Alaska Railroad tomorrow.

• Author: Ess, Charlie

The state's railroad is straightening tracks, building new stations and purchasing new engines as a way to increase revenues in the new millennium.

When Scott Banks talks railroading to kids in the schools, he breaks the ice with an explanation why the Alaska Railroad has so many curves: "There are no snakes in Alaska," is the way he begins his yarn, "when the last one left, the Alaska Railroad followed it."

The more plausible explanation, he's quick to add, is that the railroad, which turned 76 this year, was built before the days of today's technology and monstrous excavating equipment. "Our whole railroad is 36 percent curves," says Banks, public affairs officer with the Alaska Railroad Corp. in Anchorage. "That's a lot; that just slows you down."

According to Banks, straightening the curves between Wasilla and Anchorage should whittle the present two-hour ride by nearly half and serves as the initial step in the creation of a commuter rail service between the two towns by 2005.

Line straightening is but one of ARC's plans to increase revenues in the new millennium. While the commuter service would be an added source of year-round, passenger-generated income, the company has set its sights on tourism in the form of a $28 million depot at the Anchorage International Airport. The new station would connect air travelers by rail with popular destinations such as Seward, Whittier, Denali National Park and Fairbanks.

A $1.65 million expansion of the Denali National Park and Preserve depot is also on line, as is a $3 million Fairbanks Intermodal Facility and $10 million worth of track straightening between Fairbanks and Anchorage.

Fueling ARCs convictions that more people would ride trains is the steady growth in the number of passengers each year. But the numbers hold within them a few peculiarities: While it's true that 1998 brought a record-setting 614,000 riders, the rate of increase was only .3 percent over the previous year. At the same time, studies indicate that passenger growth on the tourism sector may have tapered off while special attractions or charters may be the wave of the future. The Christmas Train to Seward, for instance, showed a 25 percent increase while the once-popular Denali-to-Fairbanks route saw a 16.7 percent decline.

As in the past, freight hauling marked the most prevalent source of ARC's revenues. The railroad posted its best year of hauling freight in 1998, with more than 6.4 million tons for an increase of 3.9...