Press Release
September 10, 2003
White Pass & Yukon Route Sets a New Annual Ridership Record
SKAGWAY, AK – The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR) proudly announced that as of September 9th, it had set a new annual ridership record by carrying 319,121 revenue passengers — breaking the old record of 318,993 established in 2001. With 13 “train-days” left to the last trains scheduled for September 24th, the WP&YR is still expecting to add to that record by about another 20,000 passengers.
This year, the railroad has broken the previous daily ridership record, set in 2001, 14 times. The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad is operating at capacity and has contracted for another 8 passenger coaches to meet the forecasted increased demand for the 2004 season.
Gary C. Danielson, President of the WP&YR stated that, “The annual ridership record is a great benchmark for us because it symbolizes team achievement on many dimensions. From our relationship with the customer, to operations, maintenance, safety and administration, we’ve managed to do more, and do it better, despite constraints.”
Danielson added, “And we’re having fun doing it!”
The White Pass & Yukon Route narrow gauge railway was built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush and is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark – a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty. The WP&YR railroad is Alaska’s most popular shore excursion.
White Pass & Yukon Route is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tri-White Corporation based in Toronto, Ontario.
The Tri-White Corporation is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange as TWH.