The Canadian Government has applied for a feasability study to connect Alaska Railways to British Columbia, the connection would be from outside Fairbanks to Fort Nelson or Dease Lake through the Yukon, approx . 1800 km and costing 4 billion.
There was a similar forum about six months ago on the same subject. As I said then it would open the last frontiers in the US and Canada and the route would probably parallel the Alcan Highway. This goes through some pretty rugged territory and will be the largest public works project sine the TVA and Hoover Dam. Many who build the rail;road will stay on and become permanent settlers. The land has a way of growing on you no matter what the season. Passenger train service from Seattle or Vancouver would be spectacular. The mineral wealth to be developed in these last frontiers is untapped and I am sure their is probably still plenty of Gold and other precious metals. Having driven the Alcan for six years I can tell you the possibility of building a railroad will open up the land for all to enjoy. Winters can be harsh but their are areas in the lower 48 with colder temps and far more snowfall. The Black flys in the Spring are something else and the mosquitos ask the airport towers for landing clearance. But aside from these natural pests the land is magnificent and needs to be developed.
Who is going to pay for it? Mr Bush? He didn’t seem to like Trains. I guess his daddy never gave him a train set.
Given the overabundance of publicly owned land in this region, a land grant railroad would make the most sense as a public incentive for private investment in such a line. The question is, who is going to be the owner or the ROW? Will it be closed access, open access, or limited access (to the connecting lines aka Alaska RR, CN nee-BCRail)?
With the Texas plan being floated, we may see a similar setup for financing and operating the Alaska-Canada connection.
The State of Alaska appears to be interested in funding such a connection since they have already approved funds for the a similar feasability study under Alaskan Senate Bill 23-31 which was passed in June 2004.
Will be interesting to see, I was reading about it in the Vancouver Sun this morning.
Looks like CN would likely be the operator, at least through British Columbia on the old BC RAIL right-of-way.
//standing by.
I recently found the website of the Alaska Canada Rail Link Feasibility Study Project Office in Whitehorse YK that has more information on the progress of this study:
Thanks for the link. It has now been bookmarked!
One interesting blurb was the mention of 1.2 m tons of coal prospectively running from Yukon to Skagway. Firstly, we’re talking about 2 trains per week of 100+ units. That in and of itself would more than pay for a private line, assuming such loads would be running consistently for at least 30 years. Secondly, that brings to light the prospect of rebuilding part of the Whitehorse & Yukon, and standard gauging that entire line!
Plus there would be some Oil Traffic I think plus Consumer goods heading north.
This could really be interesting.