Trump issues surprise permit for early-stage Alberta-to-Alaska rail line, but hurdles remain
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Raising capital is a challenge for many resource projects right now but the company’s ownership group, Winnipeg-based McCoshen Group, has raised enough money for the “front-end of the project” as the company prepares to begin the regulatory process, Gladu said.
In the long-run, he said A2A Rail is setting aside a 49 per cent equity stake in the project for Indigenous communities along the route interested in partnering on the project. To that end, the company has been talking to federal, territorial and provincial governments about the possibility of providing financial backstops to Indigenous communities that may be interested in buying a stake.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan’s offices did not respond to requests for comment on the railway line proposal.
Gladu said the Alberta government has supported the project enthusiastically as its viewed as a new trade route for oilsands bitumen, which would help make the railway viable.
“The government of Alberta is glad to see the approval of the U.S. Presidential Permit for the A2A Rail project,” said Kavi Bal, spokesperson for Alberta Energy Minister Sonya Savage. “We support the development of trade corridors that can unlock new markets for many of Alberta’s products including oil and gas, new mineral production and agriculture.”
Calgary-based A2A Rail hopes to break ground on the rail line in the middle of the decade and be in service before 2030 on the project, which would wind from Fort McMurray through the southern part of the Northwest Territories before turning northwest and cutting through Yukon and Alaska.
