Canada studies Alaska rail link

Gary Park

Talk of a gas pipeline along the Alaska Highway has revived a century-old dream of a railway connecting Alaska, Canada and the Lower 48.

The Canadian government has commissioned a study to explore several key issues, including the economic viability of a railway, possible sources of funding for the Yukon leg and assessing private-sector interest.

A spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Department said the likelihood of a gas pipeline has put the railway idea “on our radar.”

Nearly three-quarters of the project, costing about C$3.5 billion, would be carved out of Yukon wilderness, which government officials conceded would likely pose a large environmental challenge.

The line would run from Fairbanks to Fort Nelson, in northeastern British Columbia, where it would tie in with an existing railway.

It is seen as a way to tap into forestry, coal and other mineral deposits on both sides of the border.

Washington has asked the Canadian government to consider forming a 24-member joint commission at an early stage to review the scheme as required by the Rails to Resources Act passed recently by the U.S. Congress.

Alaska Sen. Frank Murkowski said he is convinced that combing rail track and a gas pipeline along the same right-of-way would help make both ventures more viable.