Why aren t there more openings for vehicle traffic on the schedule?
The Alaska Railroad is working to schedule most of its freight trains during the evening hours when the tunnel is closed to vehicle traffic. However, during the day train may run in the 15-minute periods between traffic openings to transport passengers and freight. Although regularly scheduled barges run out of Seattle and Prince Rupert, this schedule can often change due to factors beyond its control (weather in the Gulf of Alaska). The tunnel must maintain these flexible time slots in order to facilitate the passage of trains and to minimize delays to tunnel users. The Alaska Railroad typpically uses less than 20% of these time slots. When these time slots are not in use by trains they may be used by the tunnel operator for the passage of additional vehicles during peak and high volume traffic openings. Please consult the Schedule page on the website for a list of available openings.
