ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Railroad says supplying oilfield activity on Alaska's North Slope helped offset revenue losses in 2014 from the closure of the North Pole refinery. 
The Alaska Journal of Commerce reports the railroad finished last year with a total operating revenue of $167.3 million.
That exceeded 2013 revenue by 1 percent and came as a surprise after a primary freight customer, Flint Hills Resources, shuttered the refinery in May.
Alaska Railroad CEO Bill O'Leary said last year the loss of Flint Hills' jet fuel business could have meant a loss of $11 million in railroad freight business.
A 1.7 percent increase in operating expenses offset the revenue gains. But O'Leary says 2014 turned out to be a lot stronger than anticipated.
