The first rail transportation networks in Alaska were constructed to serve mining interests. The 110-mile-long (177-km-long) White Pass and Yukon Railway (WP&YRR), originally constructed during the Klondike Gold Rush and completed in 1900, constituted the key link between tidewater at Skagway, the Yukon River, and the gold fields. Today, this line runs as a summer-only tourist attraction and provides service between Skagway and Fraser, British Columbia. Shortly after the turn of the century, the Guggenheims financed the construction of the Copper River & Northwestern Railway, which connected Cordova and McCarthy to service the Kennicott Copper Mining Company.
Regular passenger and freight railroad service began in 1923, when the Alaska Railroad began operation. The Alaska Railroad links communities between Whittier, Seward, Anchorage, and Fairbanks. This railroad of 482 route mi (776 km) is not connected to any other North American line (although rail-barge service provides access to the rest of the US rail network). The Alaska Railroad was federally operated until 1985 when it was bought by the state government for $22.3 million. The railroad carries volumes of coal from Healy north to Fairbanks (600,000 tons/year) and south to Seward for export (800,000 tons/year). The railroad also carries large volumes of gravel to Anchorage (more than two million tons from Palmer in the mid-1990s) and petroleum products (more than one million tons from Mapco's North Pole refinery) to Anchorage and various military bases in the area. The railroad is increasing summer passenger travel, often by hauling dome/dining rail cars owned by tour companies.
The Alaska Highway, which extends 1,523 mi (2,451 km) from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Fairbanks, is the only total road link with the rest of the US. In-state roads are few and far between: although Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Seward are linked, Juneau, the state capital, has no road link. In total, 12,823 mi (20,636 km) of roads were in use in 2000, including more than 1,800 mi (2,896 km) of roads in national parks and forests. During the same year, the state had 623,222 registered vehicles and 465,256 licensed drivers. The largest public transit system, that of Anchorage, accommodated over three million unlinked passenger trips annually in the mid-1990s.
The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) provides year-round scheduled ferry service to over 30 communities throughout southeast and southwest Alaska. Service extends from Bellingham, Washington, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia. This ferry system extends over 3,500 route mi (5,632 km) and connects communities with each other, with regional centers, and with the continental road system.
Water transport in Alaska is dominated by Valdez, which annually ships about 100 million tons of crude petroleum from the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Terminal. Kenai/Nikishka is the state's 2nd-largest freight-handling port and also has petroleum as its principal commodity. Anchorage is the state's largest general cargo port with over three million tons per year.
Air travel is the primary means of intrastate transportation, with regional carriers serving remote communities. The state operates 386 airports, including two major international airports in Anchorage and Juneau. In addition, there are 205 privatelyowned airports in the state. Anchorage International Airport (AIA) is a major refueling stop for international freight airplanes and is a freight hub for Federal Express and United Parcel Service.