Alaska Railroad

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Alaska Railroad

railway, North America

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June 18, 2026

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The Alaska Railroad is a state-owned and operated railway that spans approximately 500 miles (800 km) in Alaska. It connects the cities of Seward, Anchorage, and Fairbanks, serving as a vital transportation link within the state.12

Constructed between 1898 and 1900, the railroad was a significant development, with its completion in 1923 marking a milestone in Alaskan infrastructure. The Alaska Railroad plays a crucial role in transporting goods and passengers across the challenging terrain of Alaska, complementing other transportation methods like air travel and highways.21

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permafrost
Highways and railroads
The Trans-Siberian Railroad, the Alaska Railroad, and some Canadian railroads in the north are locally underlain by permafrost with considerable ground ice. As the large masses of ice melt each summer, constant maintenance is required to level these tracks. In winter, extensive maintenance is also required to combat frost…
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The Trans-Siberian Railroad, the Alaska Railroad, and some Canadian railroads in the north are locally underlain by permafrost with considerable ground ice. As the large masses of ice melt each summer, constant maintenance is required to level these tracks. In winter, extensive maintenance is also required to combat frost…
Read More

Anchorage
…as the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad running north to Fairbanks. A railway link with Seward was finished in 1918, and five years later the entire Alaska Railroad was completed. In the 1930s, during the Dust Bowl drought that devastated agriculture in much of the central continental United States, settlers…
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…as the headquarters of the Alaska Railroad running north to Fairbanks. A railway link with Seward was finished in 1918, and five years later the entire Alaska Railroad was completed. In the 1930s, during the Dust Bowl drought that devastated agriculture in much of the central continental United States, settlers…
Read More

Alaska
U.S. possession
…was the approximately 500-mile (800-km) Alaska Railroad that connected Seward with Anchorage and Fairbanks in 1923. In 1935 the government encouraged a farming program in the Matanuska valley near Anchorage, and dairy cattle herds and crop farming were established there, as well as in the Tanana and Homer regions.
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…was the approximately 500-mile (800-km) Alaska Railroad that connected Seward with Anchorage and Fairbanks in 1923. In 1935 the government encouraged a farming program in the Matanuska valley near Anchorage, and dairy cattle herds and crop farming were established there, as well as in the Tanana and Homer regions.
Read More

Arctic
Land transport
…is only one railway, the Alaska Railroad, which runs from the port of Seward on the south coast to Fairbanks in the interior. There are more roads, chief among them the Alaska Highway, which traverses Yukon to provide a land link between the continental United States and Alaska, which was…
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…is only one railway, the Alaska Railroad, which runs from the port of Seward on the south coast to Fairbanks in the interior. There are more roads, chief among them the Alaska Highway, which traverses Yukon to provide a land link between the continental United States and Alaska, which was…
Read More