Alaska governor asks president to grant rail extension
Posted April 2, 2019 12:20 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska’s governor has submitted a request to President Donald Trump for a presidential permit to extend an Alaska rail line into Canada.
The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday that Gov. Mike Dunleavy requested the permit to extend the Alaska Railroad in a Feb. 13 letter to Trump.
Supporters of the initiative say the extension would reduce the travel time by at least two days for Canadian and Lower 48 cargo trains headed to the Far East to use shorter sea routes.
Officials from the Alberta to Alaska Railway Development Corp. say the company plans to fund the $17 billion project without using state money.
The company says it intends to build 1,700 miles (about 2,736 kilometres) of rail to tar-sands oil fields in Alberta, Canada, including 200 miles within Alaska.
___
Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com
The Associated Press
