REPORT OF THE INQUIRY INTO THE WHITE PASS AND YUKON RAILWAY AND OTHER SURFACE TRANSPORTATION SERVICES INTO AND OUT OF THE YUKON

The 110-mile narrow-gauge WP&Y, which operates both in the U.S. and Canada, has been confronted by loss of a major segment of its bulk traffic from the interior and by a new highway opened in 1979 between its terminals of Whitehorse, YT, and Skagway, AK. After 80 years of operation without any subsidy, the parent organization of WP&Y is requesting Canadian government financial aid, both capital and operating, or outright acquisition of the railroad with the alternative being abandonment. This report examines the history, present problems and future prospects for the railroad. It calls for retention of the all-weather railroad service to the Yukon in the public interest and concludes that the railroad's problems arose primarily from government support of road systems that broke the monopoly over a rather marginal traffic volume on a "fragile" railway with inadequate capital resources. Loans are recommended that will enable the railroad to continue to fulfill its common-carrier function.

• Corporate Authors:

  Canadian Transport Commission

  Railway Transport Committee, 275 Slater Street
  Ottawa, ONo K1A 0N9,   Canada 
• Authors:
  • Thompson, K W
  • Weinberg, E
• Publication Date: 0

Media Info

• Features: Tables;
• Pagination: 228 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Abandonment; Competition; Forecasting; Freight traffic; Government funding; Policy; Subsidies; Traffic forecasting; Transportation policy
• Geographic Terms: Alaska; Canada; United States
• Old TRIS Terms: Government policies; National transportation policies
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Finance; Freight Transportation; Policy; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00316282
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 16 1980 12:00AM