Alaska Railroad joins AAR

Alaska Railroad has become the newest member of the Association of American Railroads. Established in 1914, the Alaska Railroad Corporation is a full-service railroad, serving ports and communities from the Gulf of Alaska to the interior of Alaska and connecting them to the lower 48 states and Canada through roll on-roll off barge services. ARRC manages 651 miles of track, carries more than 400,000 passengers and hauls in excess of 6 million tons of freight annually. Though it is owned by the State of Alaska, the ARRC is run as a private business and generates revenue through its year-round freight and passenger operations. "The Alaska Railroad is a major freight hauler with an interline barge service, which allows us to be an interstate and international rail carrier," said ARRC President and CEO Chris Aadnesen. "Our membership in AAR and on AAR committees will allow the Alaska Railroad to carry that message to policy makers and gives us a great opportunity to work with the leaders in the American freight rail industry on common legislative, regulatory and operational issues." Alaska Railroad joins the AAR as a full member, which includes holding a rotating seat on the AAR Board of Directors and a seat on AAR's two governing committees, the Safety and Operations Management Committee and the Policy and Advocacy Management Committee.