Bob Johnston
SKAGWAY, Alaska — Narrow gauge passenger rail operator White Pass & Yukon Route never ran excursions during 2020, despite maintaining hopes into June that COVID-19 travel restrictions might be relaxed.
Now operations are in jeopardy for 2021 as well, in the wake of a Transport Canada decision not to allow ships carrying more than 100 people to call at Canadian ports until February 2022. Because United States maritime regulations prohibit foreign-registered vessels — which includes the majority operated by cruise lines — from traveling between two U.S. ports without an intermediate stop in a foreign country, it will be difficult for ships to include Skagway on their itineraries. And that will take a huge toll on the White Pass, which relies on cruise ship passengers’ shore excursion revenue to operate fleets of trains from Skagway docks into the mountains and back.
“It’s obviously not positive news, but we’re still looking at options as to what we can do,” White Pass Human Resources Executive Director Tyler Rose tells Trains News Wire, adding, “we’ll probably have better information in the coming weeks.”
He says a skeleton staff had continued with track maintenance last year to keep the line ready to restart, but all major projects were shelved because there was no money coming in.
It is possible to get to Skagway by air, and the Alaska Marine Ferry will continue to operate from Seattle and Prince Rupert, British Columbia (the 100-person capacity limit does not apply to ferries).
But another wrinkle could be closure of the U.S. border with Canada. Some White Pass trips operate as far north as Carcross, B.C; bus excursions continue from there to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, which has an airport and is located on the Alaska Highway.
Bob Johnston
Land crossings for all but essential travel remain prohibited at the British Columbia border through Feb. 21, and Rose notes there are currently separate Yukon protocols for travelers into that province. “The regulatory and travel requirements keep changing, so we continue to monitor those for guidance,” he says.
Alaska’s congressional delegation — U.S. Rep. Don Young and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan — issued a joint statement in response to the Transport Canada decision, saying they were “exploring all potential avenues, including changing existing laws, to ensure the cruise industry in Alaska resumes operations as soon as it is safe. We will fight to find a path forward.”
In the meantime, radio station KHNS-FM of Haines, Alaska, reports the railroad last week informed 27 employees it was abolishing their jobs, citing the economic effects of the pandemic. Some had been employed by the railroad for decades; one woman told the station she would be able to reapply for a position when jobs were restored, but in the meantime, she would lose her insurance, other benefits, and seniority. Skagway Mayor Andrew Cremata said his town needs to find some “out-of-the-box ways to survive as a community,” and needs to find a way not only to preserve jobs, but create new ones. The community will hold a town hall meeting Wednesday, Feb. 10, to plan for another season without cruise-ship business.
