How typical of this man & his so-called administration that he will “call for” extending a rail link to Alaska before giving a green light to the Gateway project with its much-needed tunnel under the Hudson River.
Like his always-threatening lawsuits, nothing will come of this. Why should it? Where’s the need? Or the market to support it?
He must think all of us are suckers & losers. After all, “We don’t pay taxes. The little people pay taxes,” as another of his ilk once said.
Who will pay for and own this railroad? Is it to be a private sector railroad? If so, are there investors that see the need and the ability for it to pay for itself and thus are willing to finance it? What are the details of that part of this news story?
More engineering consultants will gain some man-years of employment, and then the idea will most likely die (again) when the financial numbers are added up. I don’t expect to see any meaningful construction. It might, barely, cover its operating costs but never the initial capital investment.
The Gateway project will require many billions of taxpayer dollars. That’s a whole different animal than the Alaska project which will be built, if it is, with voluntarily invested private money. All President Trump has to do for the Alaska line is approve crossing the international border.
The two projects are totally different in funding but you conflate them in your blind hatred of the president.
The proposed route would have to continue where the Dease Lake Extension left off. From what I understand the grade of the DLE is still there. Albeit overgrown many times over. This proposed line does pass through substantial; Copper, Iron, Zinc, Titanium, Tin, Coal and Hydrocarbon reserves. Whether those get developed if this is built who knows. Though on the intermodal side of things… This line would put us closer to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Aisa. Build a contianer port in the Cook Inlet just opposite of Anchorage. It might be worth the investment.
The proposed route would have to continue where the Dease Lake Extension left off. From what I understand the grade of the DLE is still there. Albeit overgrown many times over. This proposed line does pass through substantial; Copper, Iron, Zinc, Titanium, Tin, Coal and Hydrocarbon reserves. Whether those get developed if this is built who knows. Though on the intermodal side of things… This line would put us closer to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Aisa. Build a contianer port in the Cook Inlet just opposite of Anchorage. It might be worth the investment.
[/quot Read this ‘TWEETED’ message in a news agrigator’s site I read. And then saw this Thread posted by NKPguy earlier**.** Unfortunately, a component of the NEWSWire article is in a paywalled site for the Anchorage Daily News ! [|(]
The article states [in part] FTA:"…Alaska to Alberta Railway (A2A), which would link south-central Alaskan ports with Fort McMurray, Alta., and the rest of the continent’s rail network, will start preparing regulatory applications in Canada and Alaska. It will also begin consultations with Indigenous communities, which will be offered an equity stake of up to 49 per cent, executives said on Sunday.
I fail to see where NKP Guy was misinformed. Your blind allegiance to the person in the people’s White House leads you to explode with a temper tantrum. Issuing a permit? The question is whether or not any private interests want to construct a rail line. If they did, seems likely that a permit was not the missing link.
I found an article about it that said it will be completely privately funded through a company affiliated with the Alaska RR. I will try try to find the link again.
Trying to be apolitical, but here are some facts for the discussion.
The Tanana River Bridge, which is Alaska’s longest bridge at 3,300 feet, was completed in 2014 and is owned by the Alaska Railroad.
Articles in news media (Anchorage Daily News) at that time indicated the hope was for it to be a key link in a future rail connection to Canada.
It is about 298 miles from the current end of ARR track in North Pole, AK to Beaver Creek in the Yukon Territory.
That portion af any proposed rail line will be litigated in US courts.
The President - whoever it is - has authority to approve or disapprove international border crossings for rail, pipeline and other commercial projects.
The portion of the rail line in Canada, which is the vast majority of the line, will be litigated in Canadian courts.
Opponents only need to stop it in one country - proponents need to have it approved in two countries.
In reading further, I don’t find any clear statement as to how this will be financed. It is being built by The Alaska – Alberta Railway Development Corporation (A2A RAIL). Without further information, I cannot rule out the possibility that this project will be publically financed by the U.S. and Canada.
That is a possibility. The Alaska Railroad is owned by the State of Alaska. It will be interesting to see if they end up being the owners of the stretch between North Pole and the border.
The proposed route would have to continue where the Dease Lake Extension left off. From what I understand the grade of the DLE is still there. Albeit overgrown many times over. This proposed line does pass through substantial; Copper, Iron, Zinc, Titanium, Tin, Coal and Hydrocarbon reserves. Whether those get developed if this is built who knows. Though on the intermodal side of things… This line would put us closer to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Aisa. Build a contianer port in the Cook Inlet just opposite of Anchorage. It might be worth the investment.
[/quot Read this ‘TWEETED’ message in a news agrigator’s site I read. And then saw this Thread posted by NKPguy earlier**.** Unfortunately, a component of the NEWSWire article is in a paywalled site for the Anchorage Daily News !
The article states [in part] FTA:"…Alaska to Alberta Railway (A2A), which would link south-central Alaskan ports with Fort McMurray, Alta., and the rest of the continent’s rail network, will start preparing regulatory applications in Canada and Alaska. It will also begin
Without further information, I would rule it out definitively as, even if there were no issues with year-round operation or maintenance, there is little effective use for the line economically unless it is extended across the Bering Strait coherently and coordinated either with some aspect of Belt and Road or … Russian operation. As a friend of mine used to say, I’ve got a real clear picture that Trump getting any financing whatsoever even approved for a Russian connection, no matter how prospectively far in the future, will receive positive consideration in those areas of government that allocate financing…
I believe the A2A RAIL people have bent over backward to keep the financing private, even to the extent of having the American or Canadian governments provide access to cheaper or better guaranteed financial terms.
Someone remind me what their currently touted routing is, and whether it changed in response to the First Nations controversies a few months ago or the weaselry inherent in some of the supposed Canadian-government responses to them.
Regarding ecomomics, are not their mineral (mining) and agricultural expansion possibilities in Alaska that would be realized by year-round lower-cost transportation to Canada and the rest of the USA?