The Alaska Railroad replaces ties, looks ahead to summer

The Alaska Railroad continues their work on replacing all ties along the tracks from Fairbanks to Seward this spring.    Tim Thompson, spokesman for Alaska Railroad says that the track rehabilitation project started a couple of years ago was sorely needed.  He says no major tie replacement had occurred since World War 2.  Ties have been staged from north of Talkeetna to areas south of Anchorage. He also says projects and corporate sponsorships are slowing this year.  They have laid off workers in various positions across Alaska due to the downturn in the economy.  They expect ridership to be lower this year than in past years and are buckling down on sponsorships and other corporate giving projects in light of projections for this summer.  This week, Railroad corporate managers are in meetings about future spending.

Story by Diana Haecker