Railroad adds passenger car to Whittier to help the stranded

The Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel will likely remain blocked to road traffic, but not train traffic, until late Wednesday, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. The slide buried the road but not the tracks.

Today, the department is sending a team of geologists to assess the safety of the slide area before work crews go in. The department also hopes to award a contract by the end of today for removal of the debris on Tuesday and Wednesday, said spokesman Rick Feller.

The contractors will likely need to bring down overhanging rock that might still pose a public hazard in the slide area, he said.

If the debris removal is finished on Wednesday, the tunnel might reopen late in the day, he said.

The slide erupted from a rock face cut in the late 1990s for the road to Whittier, and on Saturday night, an extensive area of the rock face collapsed, leaving a pile of rubble up to 30 feet high on the road, said Gordon Burton, the Whittier tunnel manager.

The Alaska Railroad announced today that it would send trains between Whittier and Anchorage twice daily for the rest of the week. The route was closed to passenger traffic for the winter and wasn't scheduled to reopen until May.

The train schedule for this week is as follows: The first train will leave Anchorage at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Whittier at 11:15. It will then leave for Anchorage at 11:45 a.m. and arrive at 2 p.m. The second train will leave Anchorage at 2:30 p.m., arrive in Whittier at 4:45, depart at 5:15 and arrive at 7:30 p.m. Trains will stop in Portage and Girdwood.

The railroad is asking all passengers to call and make reservations "due to regulatory requirements," said spokesman Tim Thompson.

Ticket prices are: one way to Whittier or to Anchorage $33, and round trip $40; one way Portage to Whittier or to Anchorage $11, and round trip $20. For more information, call the Alaska Railroad at 265-2494 or 800-544-0552.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.