The White Pass and Yukon Route will begin scheduled passenger service between Skagway and Carcross in May 2007, the company announced Saturday.

'We've been working towards Carcross and this historic announcement for years,' said company president Gary C. Danielson.

'We backed up our faith in the future of Alaska and Yukon as a tourism destination with US$8 million in capital investment between the border and Carcross, where our maintenance-away crews have worked hard to rebuild our infrastructure.'

The formal announcement, before some 200 people, was made during a ceremony in Carcross on Saturday involving Holland America Line. The day marked the 106th anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony in Carcross commemorating the railway's completion.

The product and market required to justify the expansion and investment was developed with Holland America Line the railway's long-time partner in travel and one of the North's pioneer tourism companies.

Holland America Line has made the commitment to carry its passengers by train to and from Skagway and Carcross. That will provide an initial base of more than 20,000 passengers, giving White Pass the commitment it needed to begin Carcross service, which will run six days a week, Danielson said.

White Pass plans to invest in five new passenger coaches and the restoration of five wooden coaches this winter to meet the demands of the Carcross service.

'It took the vision and commitment of two private industry companies to make it happen and to continue the growth of tourism in the North,' said Danielson.

'Together, we will authentically share the beauty and history of this area. With the return of service to Carcross, the White Pass and Yukon Route will again become North America's longest operating narrow gauge railroad at 67.5 miles.

'It took 25 years, but we've put the Yukon back into White Pass and Yukon Route!'

The service will involve a stop for lunch to be served to passengers. Fares have not yet been finalized.

The 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 railway had become Alaska's most popular shore excursion and North America's busiest tourist railway, carrying more than 430,000 passengers in 2005. It has already broken two daily passenger records this season.

The railway would be willing to consider the restoration of Whitehorse service if it's shown there's a market for it, Danielson said.

Trains ran between Skagway and Whitehorse until 1982, when the Faro-area lead and zinc mine began a four-year closure. Shipping the product by rail had been White Pass's most important source of revenue.

The White Pass and Yukon Route is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tri-White Corp. of Toronto.

Those who attended Saturday's announcement were served tea and bannock from the Carcross-Tagish First Nation.