1. Commissioner Marc Luiken
Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
Commissioner Marc Luiken
North to Alaska
7 September 2017

2. Overview Alaska DOT&PF Alaska Railroad Alaska Ports
Why a rail connection?
Conclusion

3. Alaska Facts
The coast line of Alaska is equal to the coast line of the continental United States.
Alaska is the largest state; if Alaska were cut in half, Texas would be the third largest state.
Alaska’s 591,004 sq. miles
Alaska is the furthest north, west and east state in the Union
Alaska has more coastline than the entire CONUS

4. Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities
DOT&PF Assets
1/17/2013
5,619 center line miles of roads/highways
242 State Airports, 2 IAPs
10 Ferries, 35 Ferry Terminals
25 Harbors
7 Weigh Stations
82% of Alaska’s communities are only accessible by air or water
2% of Alaska’s land mass is accessible by road
Longest ferry system in North America, 3500 miles, key link for 33 Alaskan communities
Integrity ∙ Excellence ∙ Respect
11/14/2018

5. Alaska Railroad Corporation
ORGANIZATION
History, Ownership & Operation
Federal Government built the railroad in order to open the territory to development
State purchased railroad in 1985 for $22.3 million
Independent corporation managed by a 7-member board of directors appointed by the Governor
State law mandates self-sustaining operations and responsibility for financial and legal obligations
Mission
Provide safe, quality transportation land real estate services
Operate profitably and be self-sustaining
Foster economic development (includes new and improved infrastructure, such as rail extensions)
Assets
656 total miles of track
863 freight railcars (owned)
44 passenger railcars
51 locomotives + 2 power cars
Yards: Seward, Anchorage, Whittier, Fairbanks

6. Alaska Railroad Corporation
FINANCIAL (as of 2015)
2015 Assets: $1.09 billion
2015 Revenue: $183.8 million
($50 million in grant revenue)
2015 Net Income: $10.9 million
2016 Budgeted Net Income: $9.3 million
BUSINESS LINES
Freight Business
2015 Freight: 4.29 million tons
Alaska’s current rail link to the Lower 48 and Canada is through
the Alaska Rail Marine, a rail barge service operating
between Seattle and Whittier.
Passenger Business
2015 Passengers: 475, 034
The Alaska Railroad offers year-round regularly scheduled rail transportation.
Real Estate Business
Real estate holdings: 36, 228 acres
38% (13,738 acres) for track and bed right of way
12%(4,520 acres) for railroad operations
50% (17, 970 acres) for long-term lease or permit use
The railroad hauls natural resources including coal, gravel and petroleum products; as well as major commodities including industry chemicals and supplies, dry goods, hazardous materials, pipe, lumber, heavy equipment and large specialty items. The Alaska Railroad is the first railroad in the US to be authorized to transport LNG.

7. Alaska Railroad Corporation
Railroad has one major river crossing south east of Fairbanks complete – Tanana River
ROW is mostly federal (DoD) or state land to Delta Junction
This project was completed in 2012 in anticipation of continuing the railroad south to Delta Junction US DoD supplied much of the funding as this rail line provides a link to a major training area south of Fairbanks.

8. Alaska’s Ports Alaska currently has three year round
ports connected by rail:
Port of Anchorage – deep water
Seward Port – deep water, ice free
Whittier Port – deep water, ice free
One port nearly connected by rail: Port MacKenzie – deep water
Other ports of interest to Canada:
Port of Valdez – deep water, ice free
Port of Skagway - deep water, ice free, connected to Carcross, YT via narrow gage rail
Haines Port – deep water, ice free

9. Port of Anchorage
The Port of Anchorage is the major intermodal deep-water port in Alaska. Fully operational year round, and located only a few miles away from one of the busiest cargo airports in the US.
Port facilities include:
Three General Cargo Terminals, 2,100 ft. of dock face
Two Petroleum Product Terminals with 600 feet each of berthing space
Loose cement offloading capability
Intermodal connections via rail, road and air
Operating depth at all berths (except barge berth): dredged to -35 feet below MLLW
Maximum length and breadth: No limit
On-dock Transit Shed with 27,000 square foot heated storage/office space
Rail mounted, electric Container Cranes: (2) 30 ton and (1) 40 ton
Bulk Petroleum Valve Yard .
Foreign Trade Zone
The Municipality is a grantee of the Anchorage Foreign
Trade Zone 160, the only activated FTZ in the State of Alaska.
Anchorage Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 160, the only activated
FTZ in the State of Alaska.
POA Director tells me the port is operating at 60% capacity right now – room to grow.
Three General Cargo Terminals, 2,100 ft. of dock face, container, roll on\roll off, break bulk capabilities
Two Petroleum Product Terminals with 600 feet each of berthing space with four 2,000-bbl./hr.-product pipelines each
Loose cement offloading capability via pneumatic pump and pipeline
Intermodal connections via rail, road and air
Operating depth at all berths (except barge berth): dredged to -35 feet below MLLW
Maximum length and breadth: No limit
On-dock Transit Shed with 27,000 square foot heated storage/office space
Rail mounted, electric Container Cranes: (2) 30 ton and (1) 40 ton
Bulk Petroleum Valve Yard capable of multiple simultaneous 
marine/shore and/or inter-user shore side transfers.

10. Port of Seward DOCK FACILITIES A high percentage of Seward Port users
make Intermodal connections through Alaska Railroad terminus on the waterfront.
Annually, more than 186,000 people and all types
of cargo enter Seward via the railroad dock facilities
Docks are directly connected to the railroad
Dock facilities and railroad support freight
routes around the state
Port also contains an ore loading facility, previously
used for coal.
POA Director tells me the port is operating at 60% capacity right now – room to grow.

11. Port MacKenzie INFRASTRUCTURE Additional and future facilities
550’ long, 14.7 acre barge dock with gravel surface to -20 Mean Low Level Water (MLLW)
1200’ long deep draft dock, -60 MLLW
Bulk commodity loading capability – 2000 tons/hour
Additional and future facilities
Rail connection with a rail loop at the port: will be the longest industrial loop in the state
for efficient on and offloading
14 square miles of industrial area—no other Alaska port has the space
POA Director tells me the port is operating at 60% capacity right now – room to grow.

12. Why a Rail Connection
Alaska is still isolated – limited connections by road, air, water
Manufacturing is limited
Stunted state’s economic growth
Rail connection would provide a 4-5 day link between major US and Canadian markets – opens another access to Asian and world markets
Shorten delivery of bulk, durable, and other commodity goods
Lower shipping costs
Help reduce the cost of living in Alaska
Rail connection would also ultimately allow Alaska’s resources quicker access to markets in Canada and Lower 48
Alaska’s ports have capacity
Most ports on the west coast of North
America are at or exceed existing capacity
Alaska’s proximity advantage:
3000 km closer to major Asian ports than Port of Los Angeles
1800 km closer than SEATAC
7-9 days sailing time
Direct route

13. Summary
Alaska’s strategic location make it a key location for intermodal transportation networks and import/export of bulk commodities
Alaska has intermodal transportation network and port facilities with capacity in place to help ship Canada’s commodities to Asia and the world
Alaska and Canada need a rail connection to help make this a reality
Alaska is interested in working with
entities in Canada who want to make
this rail connection a reality.
Alaska will work with US Department
of State on cross border issues as /when
necessary