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. |