On Friday, an Alaska Railroad crew worked on track repairs at 71.5 near Girdwood. On Jan. 16, an avalanche swept across the tracks, and a freight train was also affected. Railroad officials have confirmed that one of the three derailments will be repaired at a later date. (Courtesy Alaska Railroad)

The Alaska Railroad tracks damaged by an avalanche last week in Girdwood were restored to service and are now back in use. This restores a crucial link between Alaska’s Railbelt rail freight and the Lower 48.

The Alaska Railroad has released a press release saying that its crews completed the repairs Friday afternoon.

The avalanche occurred on Jan. 16, just four days before. A freight train traveling from Whittier to Anchorage was impacted by avalanche debris. Although there were no injuries, the impact caused two locomotives to be derail, partially derail another and caused thousands of tons of freight to be held up.

An Alaska Railroad crew works on track repairs at rail milepost 71.5 near Girdwood on Friday. An avalanche had hit the tracks overnight on Jan. 16, and a freight train hit the debris early on Jan. 17. (Courtesy Alaska Railroad)

Crews cleared the snow and got two locomotives back on tracks last week. The third was moved out of the way. According to the Alaska Railroad, it will re-rail the locomotive this week depending on weather conditions and safety.

There is also a rail connection from Whittier to Seattle. Special marine barges equipped with railroad tracks are used by the Alaska Railroad to load and unload train cars. The barge transports train cars from Seattle to Whittier about once per week.

Christy Terry, spokesperson for Alaska Railroad, stated that the barge delivery schedule can be adjusted depending on the weather so delays from an avalanche are unlikely to have any impact.