Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation

The Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation (also known as A2A Rail) is an entity created to build, own, and operate a proposed 1,600-mile (2,600 km) railroad between Delta Junction, Alaska and Fort McMurray, Alberta.[2] The railroad will interchange with and operate on part of the Alaska Railroad, in order to access Southcentral Alaska and its ports. As of 2020 the project is estimated to cost CA$20 billion.[2]

Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation
Overview
Other name(s)A2A Rail
StatusPre-construction
OwnerMcCoshen Group
TerminiDelta Junction, Alaska
Fort McMurray, Alberta
Connecting linesAlaska Railroad
Canadian Pacific
Websitehttps://a2arail.com/
Service
Typeinternational freight
Technical
Track length1,600 mi (2,600 km)
Number of trackssingle with passing sidings[1]
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge

A rival enterprise, G7G Railway, has estimated the capital cost to be just under US$20 billion. They proposed shipping oil, via the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, from rail cars in Delta Junction to the coast.[3]

Route
The A2A intends to connect the isolated Alaska Railroad (above) and the rest of the North America via connections in Alberta to the Canadian railway network (below)

The proposed A2A railway would connect to the Alaska Railroad at Delta Junction, Alaska and run through the Yukon to Fort Nelson, BC and from there to a terminus at Fort McMurray, Alberta.[4] The A2A Railway had also been negotiating with the Mat-Su Borough on an agreement to complete the Port Mackenzie Railway Extension.[3]

Planning and construction

The Van Horne Institute studied the route in 2013.[5][6] A survey of the proposed route by the development corporation began in July 2020.[7]

On September 25, 2020, President Donald Trump announced he would issue a Presidential Permit to the Railway[1] which has an agreement with Alaska Railway[8] to develop a joint operating plan for the rail connection to Canada.

Early field activities and detailed engineering design is expected to start by Q1 2021.[9] Construction is expected to take three years.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Trump gives approval for Alberta-Alaska rail line to move resources". Must Read Alaska. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  2. "Our Railway". A2A Rail.com. Alaska to Alberta Rail. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. Anderson, Dennis. "Is Alberta to Alaska Railway Port Mac's Sugar Savior?". frontiersman.com. Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  4. "Ambitious railway dream is gathering steam". Whitehorse Star. 2020-07-10. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  5. Azizi, Joshua (5 July 2019). "Group aims for Canada-Alaska railway through Yukon". Yukon News. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. "Alberta to Alaska Railway" (PDF). Pacific NorthWest Economic Region. Van Horne Institute. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. Cuenca, Oliver. "Alberta – Alaska railway surveying to proceed". International Railway Journal. International Railway Journal. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  8. "ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT: A2A Rail aims to carve out railway corridor between Alberta, Alaska". Journal of Commerce by ConstructConnect. 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  9. "With start of surveying activities, A2A Rail achieves another development milestone". Cision. CNW Group Ltd. July 7, 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
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