‘Game Changer’: Stakeholders Welcome US Permit for Railway Between Alaska and Alberta

The Alaska Railroad passenger train idles at Seward, Alaska, in a file photo. When completed, the A2A Rail project will connect Alaska and Alberta and ship a variety of freight, and possibly passengers as well. Public Domain

A 121-year-old idea of a freight rail project connecting Alaska and Alberta has received an important push from Washington promising a presidential permit to begin preliminary survey work on the proposed 2,570-kilometre route.

On Sept. 29, U.S. President Donald Trump officially gave the green light to the Alberta-to-Alaska railway project, which would run from Fort McMurray, Alberta, through the Northwest Territories and Yukon, and terminate at Delta Junction in Alaska.