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Governor asks Trump for permit needed to connect Alaska railroad to Canada, Lower 48
Anchorage Daily News ^ | 31 March 2019 | Alex DeMarban

Posted on 03/31/2019 3:05:31 PM PDT by KC_Lion

An Alaska Railroad freight train travels near Girdwood, Feb. 14, 2019. (Bob Hallinen photo)

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is asking President Donald Trump to grant a presidential permit to extend the Alaska Railroad into Canada, supporting a Canadian company seeking to blaze a new path for Asian-bound products.

Linking the Alaska and North American rail systems, an idea more than a century old, would cut at least two days travel time for Canadian and Lower 48 cargo headed to the Far East because of shorter sea routes, supporters say.

“To me it was a no-brainer,” said Sean McCoshen, chief executive of Alberta to Alaska Railway Development Corp., speaking to the Senate Transportation Committee late last month.

“A2A will make Alaska’s ports the closest to Asia in North America,” Mead Treadwell, a former Alaska lieutenant governor and consultant to the Canadian company, told a reporter on Thursday.

....

Railcars would move overland to Cook Inlet, carrying passengers and freight. Cargo would include bitumen, the semi-solid, tar-like form of crude oil, potash used in fertilizer, and ore from mines.

Asian imports could be hauled into Canada and the Lower 48.

Estimates show the project would generate at least $4 billion in annual revenues, the company says.

The state would benefit by renting right-of-way to the company, and through tariffs paid for railcars traveling through Alaska, Treadwell said.

(Excerpt) Read more at adn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Canada; Government; US: Alaska
KEYWORDS: 2020election; alaska; alaskarailroad; alaskarailway; alberta; boycotts; canada; election2020; energy; howardschultz; hydrocarbons; maga; mikedunleavy; opec; railroad; sanctions; seanmccoshen; starbucks; tariffs; trade; trump; trumpalaska
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To: Sacajaweau

When Murkowski votes WITH Trump, we’ll think about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Tell the governor he will get the permit when the nasty ho resigns.


21 posted on 03/31/2019 4:03:01 PM PDT by shelterguy
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To: KC_Lion

Only if the State recalls Senator Murkowski and appoints a true Conservative in her place.


22 posted on 03/31/2019 4:03:54 PM PDT by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne)
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To: KC_Lion

Oh man. Can you imagine a RR trip to Alaska from the lower 48? Would I love that. :)


23 posted on 03/31/2019 4:06:21 PM PDT by Captain Compassion (I'm just sayin')
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To: CedarDave

Those Canadian ports ship mainly commodities — which are more cost-sensitive, than time-sensitive. I doubt they have much to fear from this.


24 posted on 03/31/2019 4:18:54 PM PDT by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: KC_Lion

Reading the History at your wiki link...it’s been tried a number of times. Always expensive and a failure. And expensive.


25 posted on 03/31/2019 4:29:29 PM PDT by moovova
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To: KC_Lion

Maybe they want to get Alberta oil to the Alaskan terminals.


26 posted on 03/31/2019 4:34:33 PM PDT by BeauBo
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To: KC_Lion

A reliable, predictable and high volume land route between Alaska and the lower US will make Alaska truly part of the union.

Fully integrated.

The state and all of British Columbia and Yukon might even develop more.

Yeah, the weather and terrain are substantial issues. Just keeping a gravel road open 1/2 the year is an enormous challenge.

But the payback is definitely there.


27 posted on 03/31/2019 4:37:46 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Sacajaweau

It’s a Canadian trick.

They’re up to something.


28 posted on 03/31/2019 4:49:40 PM PDT by wally_bert (Disc jockeys are as interchangeable as spark plugs.)
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To: KC_Lion

So pretty.


29 posted on 03/31/2019 4:56:13 PM PDT by beaversmom (Trump is a bionic, 1-man band. Time for all Repubs to jump on his band-wagon & circle the wagons.)
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To: KC_Lion

Looking at the presentation you linked, it seems they would like to ship a million barrels per day out of the Port of Valdez from Alberta. Maybe using the pipeline from Delta Junction.

And they would run fiber optic cable along the route, to also supply massive Internet bandwidth.

Winter weather and seismic threats will need special attention, but they may have it routed far enough from fault lines to reduce the earthquake risk.


30 posted on 03/31/2019 4:57:40 PM PDT by BeauBo
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To: moovova

AOC will love it and propose it continue on to Hawaii.


31 posted on 03/31/2019 5:15:43 PM PDT by RightLady (Save Western Civilization.)
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To: RightLady

No, those routes will be sailboats.


32 posted on 03/31/2019 5:17:29 PM PDT by nascarnation
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To: KC_Lion

A big surprise why it wasn’t done already.


33 posted on 03/31/2019 5:20:48 PM PDT by NorseViking
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To: KC_Lion

I would be skeptical. Trade with China usually ends up being an import only proposition. It’s so bad their steel containers have been piling up by the thousands all over the US for years. Their cargo ships have usually been returning to China empty. But recently, they have been returning with empty containers now in demand due to the decline in steel production.


34 posted on 03/31/2019 5:21:04 PM PDT by Lambrusco
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To: CedarDave

Screw southern BC, let’s get the plant in Kitimat built and haul our gas there, preferably in pipe.


35 posted on 03/31/2019 5:24:32 PM PDT by Bulwyf
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To: Captain Compassion; wattojawa

Roger that!


36 posted on 03/31/2019 5:30:32 PM PDT by lightman (Byzantine Troparia: The "praise choruses" of antiquity.)
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To: KC_Lion
Looked at the presentation. It states the "All in capital cost range $14 Billion - $20 million".

I assume that is an "All in capital cost range $14 Billion - $20 billion". That is a big boner to put in an advertising package.

37 posted on 03/31/2019 6:56:00 PM PDT by 17th Miss Regt
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To: KC_Lion

I lived in Alaska from 1976-2002 and could never understand why this had never been done. It’s time.

I grew up in Michigan and took the Trans-Continental RR across Canada several times (both directions of course). Going from Calgary to Anchorage would be one of the most beautiful trips on Earth.


38 posted on 03/31/2019 8:03:06 PM PDT by 43north (Its hard to stop a man when he knows he's right and he keeps coming.)
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To: 43north

Going Watson Lake to either Atline or Teslin or Whitehorse to Skagway or Haines would get the freight into the Pacific quicker than going to Fairbanks then Anchorage/Port McKenzie.
The Valdez route is faster too.


39 posted on 03/31/2019 8:42:43 PM PDT by namvolunteer (Obama says the US is subservient to the UN and the Constitution does not apply. That is treason.9we)
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To: namvolunteer

I was not suggesting that the freight go to Anchorage, just that it would be a scenic trip. Hell, they would ALL be scenic trips. I’m pretty familiar with the topography and navigation challenges in Valdez. There is a lot of infrastructure already there with the oil terminal. That is the deep side of the bay which would make a lot of sense compared to the town side. Just don’t ever, EVER let Joe Hazelwood drive one of the cargo ships out of port (LOL!).


40 posted on 03/31/2019 8:59:20 PM PDT by 43north (Its hard to stop a man when he knows he's right and he keeps coming.)
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