Why was the railroad from Skagway to Whitehorse built?

The railroad from Skagway, Alaska, to Whitehorse, Yukon, was constructed to overcome significant geographical obstacles that hindered travel during the Klondike gold rush.1

During the gold rush, prospectors traveling north from Skagway faced difficult terrain, including the rocky walls of Miles Canyon and the hazardous Whitehorse Rapids. These features served as major impediments to river navigation. To bypass these dangers, the White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&YR) narrow-gauge railway was built to connect the coastal port of Skagway to Whitehorse, which served as the southern terminal for river transport. By providing a reliable link between the coast and the upper reaches of the Yukon River, the railroad facilitated the movement of passengers and freight toward the booming goldfields near Dawson.123