White Pass & Yukon is sold

Carnival to acquire Alaska's White Pass & Yukon railroad

The sale of the railroad is set to close July 31.

TWC Enterprises Ltd. has entered an agreement to sell the White Pass & Yukon Route rail and port operations in Skagway, Alaska, to cruise ship operator Carnival Corp.

TWC said in a press release earlier this month that it entered into a purchase and sale agreement for $290 million, minus debt, taxes and liabilities of $70 million to $80 million. The sale is set to close July 31, according to a TWC press release.

"This asset represents a one of a kind experience and is an iconic name in the Alaskan cruise industry," said TWC Chairman Rai Sahi. "Carnival already has a strong presence in Alaska with its multiple brands and White Pass represents a very strategic acquisition for them."

In addition, Carnival's Holland America Alaska Tours executed a memorandum of understanding with Survey Point Holdings Inc. — an Alaskan company based in Ketchikan — to create a joint venture in which Survey manages the port, White Pass Scenic Railway and the retail operations that Carnival will acquire from TWC, Carnival officials said in their press release.

As part of the MOU and joint venture, the partners plan to expand docking facilities to accommodate new cruise ships. Survey Point will continue to manage the White Pass & Yukon's day-to-day terminal operations and customer relations.

My wife and I were to have ridden the train on June 3 however a rockslide three days earlier closed the line. Both steam engines are out of service this year for "maintenance" and I couldn't get a good answer from any of the local railroad staff as to whether or not they would be returned to service. I was told however that the passenger trains would continue to run including the long run to Carcross.