Rail link to Canada moves closer to reality
On Sept. 28 President Trump signed a permit authorizing the construction of the Alaska to Alberta railroad. This would connect Alaska’s railway to the outside world and enable the transport of oil, minerals, and other commodities. Alberta faces challenges in moving oil by pipeline to ports on Canada’s west coast. The planned railway link will connect all of North America to global markets through Alaska’s tidewater ports. The proposed rail line will run 1,500 miles and cost $17 billion. All but 200 miles of the line are in Canada so Alaska’s share of the cost will be relatively small.
“The A2A project represents tremendous potential, not only for our economy but for the delivery of affordable energy for American families,” said Alaska Representative Don Young in a press release. “I have been an outspoken supporter of this project because it means good-paying jobs for Alaskans. I will continue to support A2A to its completion and will be doing everything within my power to cut through red tape and bureaucracy.”
The permit was requested by Governor Mike Dunleavy in February 2019. The project is estimated to create thousands of jobs for Alaskans. As planned, one line would go north from Canada to connect to the Alaska Railroad at Delta Junction, the northern end-of-track. Another line will go to Hazelton, BC, which is served by the Canadian Railway. That line will pass through Watson Lake, Yukon, and Dease Lake. Another line will go from Carmacks B.C. to either Haines or Skagway, Alaska. The route has been endorsed by Canada’s Assembly of First Nations. Only freight service is planned at this time, but passenger service could be added at a later date. An alternate route also being discussed connects to the Alaska Railway at North Pole. Negotiations are underway with the Mat-Su Borough on the completion of the Port Mackenzie Railway Extension.
The Alaska–Alberta Railway Development Corporation, A2A, began working on the plans in 2015. They have a team of 40 and have already invested over $60 million in engineering and studies. CEO of the corporation is former Alaska Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell. In an interview in Canada’s Daily Commercial News he pointed out that not only oil needs to be transported. Bitumen also needs access to Pacific ports. “Our operating plan considers the potential to move a million to a million-and-a-half barrels of bitumen per day, among other shipments,” says Treadwell. “The long and the short of it is that ports in Alaska’s Cook Inlet have already been exporting oil in one form or another since the early 1960s. Ports in the area export to refineries as far away as Taiwan.”
The rail line would include a rail corridor of about 500 feet wide across a route that is mostly straight and flat. It will be a single track with sidings so trains heading in opposite directions can pass. There will be some tunneling and bridging. The rails will be steel, the ties concrete, and construction would require large amounts of gravel as ballast. It will need switching yards, water and wastewater facilities, installation of power lines and fiber optic cables. “If we could begin construction today, we’d be looking at a three-to four-year construction project,” said Treadwell.