Staying on Track: Alaska to Alberta railway considers refinancing to steam ahead.

• Author: Orr, Vanessa

The Alaska Railroad, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, World War II military infrastructure, and TAPS: there are a select number of large-scale infrastructure projects that have helped make Alaska what it is today.

It was hoped that the Alaska to Alberta Railway (A2A) would be a similar groundbreaking project, connecting producers and consumers in western Canada with the large and growing markets in East and South Asia.

"There are certain types of beachhead investments that create a lot of other jobs and contribute to increased economic activity in the state," says A2A Vice-chair Mead Treadwell of these move-the-needle projects. "And while our ports are fundamental, in this case, the A2A could help Alaska find its destiny as a transportation powerhouse."

While the idea of creating this type of railway has been around for more than a century-it is thought that the 1899 Harriman expedition along the coast of Alaska might have been in part to scout for a railroad route through the state--it hasn't come near to fruition. In the past five years, however, a lot of work--from receiving presidential border crossing permission to working with Indigenous communities along the proposed route--has been done to try to make it a reality.

Like Harriman's vision, however, the A2A might remain a dream--at least for the time being-as the A2A works its way through even rougher territory than the Alaska and Canadian landscapes. In June, the A2A filed for protection from creditors after its main lender, Bridging Finance Inc., was placed into receivership.

The Project

A2A, an Alberta corporation, proposes to build a 2,000-mile rail link between the existing North American rail grid, the Alaska Railroad, and Alaska tidewater ports.

Its construction will enable Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Alberta to have greater access to world markets for their raw materials and manufactured goods, in addition to providing for tourism and passenger travel. The project is expected to cost approximately CA$22 billion-plus, or roughly US$18 billion.

"The chief benefit to Alaska is that it would diversify our economy, putting the state right in the middle of Eurasian cargo traffic," Treadwell explains. "If we had a rail link starting at Seward, Anchorage, or Port Mackenzie that goes to Maine or Florida, it would mean that Alaska would be the closest port on the Pacific to goods coming in from Asia. It would create a two- to four-day time advantage...