alaska-ski-trainANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Railroad announced last week it would lay off 127 employees and cancel it’s ski train excursions next spring, the Anchorage Daily News has reported. The state-owned railroad has lost business in the recession, forcing the cuts.

A tradition going back to the 1940’s, the train has carried thousands of skiers into the remote backcountry of Grandview, south of Anchorage, and Curry, near Talkeetna.

All winter excursions, except maybe the holiday train to Seward will be canceled. Wendy Lindskoog, the railroad’s associate vice president of corporate affairs, said the ski train could be a money-losing proposition depending on weather. “There is extra cost associated with running charters in the winter,” she said. “Weather can throw unexpected hurdles at you, and you often end up not making money. On some charters you make money, but on others you don’t.”

Regularly scheduled passenger service to Fairbanks will continue through the winter.

For more on Alaska Train Rides, visit:

http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/alaska_trainrides.php