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Alaska Railroad Corp. earlier this month unveiled two new custom-designed luxury passenger cars that will be used on its Denali Star Train, which runs daily from Anchorage to Denali and Fairbanks, beginning this summer.
The cars were built by Colorado Railcar at a cost of about $3.4 million each. Each car has two levels and can seat up to 72 passengers. The bottom level offers dining space and a full kitchen facility. The top offers seating under glass domes and allows sightseers to eye Alaska from an outdoor viewing platform.
A self-taught Alaska Native artist, Apangalook carved two pieces from whalebone and embellished them with ivory to display in the two cars.
As of May 11, service on the new cars were booked solid for 27 days of the season - and that was without any advertising, said railroad spokesman Tim Thompson.
The railroad's passenger traffic has increased in numbers over the last few summer seasons, and bookings are on track to break records this summer, Thompson added. About 30 percent of visitors booking travel on the Denali Star Train have upgraded to the bi-level cars.
Pat Gamble, the railroad's president, has said that the corporation expects to buy several more luxury cars over the next few years.
Melissa Campbell can be reached at melissa.campbell@alaska
journal.com.
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