One Rail to Unite the World?

One of the last topics some of you might expect to be covered here is the Obama Administration's forthcoming decision on the Keystone Pipeline, that would carry oil from oil sands deposits in Alberta to locations in the United States. This post isn't to discuss the benefits and disadvantages of that decision (which are many), but rather to explore the ramifications on North American rail infrastructure if it is denied by the Administration.

If the pipeline is not constructed, there might be significant momentum to build a new rail line from Fort McMurray, Alberta to Delta Junction, Alaska to transport that same oil that was to be moved by the pipeline. The project – proposed by a collaboration of several First Nations (counterparts in Canada to American Indian tribes in the United States) – would construct a new railroad from existing rail lines in Fort McMurray through extremely remote and mountainous terrain in Alberta, British Columbia, the Northwest Territory and Alaska to reach the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) at Delta Junction.

Surely, you're asking yourself, "wait, isn't this blog about passenger rail?" Well, certainly the primary objective of the new rail line would be to move large volumes of oil to the TAPS and worldwide oil market. But the project's backers were already undertaking such substantial effort, they would likely also built a connection with the Alaska Railroad in Fairbanks – about 95 miles north and west of Delta Junction – to expand the infrastructure's utility. In that event, the prospect of offering some form of passenger rail service from Alaska through Canada to the continental United States for the first time in history becomes an exciting prospect. Already, both the Alaska Railroad as well as private rail tour companies in western Canada offer passenger rail trips that attract riders through their journeys through remote and awe-inspiring landscapes. A rail travel experience that connects both could well find a healthy market of customers, let alone the potential to connect smaller on-line communities with scheduled intercity travel.

Of course, such an endeavor would require copious capital derived from both public and private sources – likely upwards of $100 billion – but also in-depth study of the feasibility of the freight oil operation and whether the revenue produced would come anywhere close to the operational and capital costs associated with the project. At the same time, such a rail line could also carry other commodities to support its operating costs.

The real point of spending a whole blog post on this subject, though, isn't just exploring the concept of an Alberta – Alaska rail line, however far-fetched, but taking the idea to its most extreme conclusion: if a new rail line is already being constructed on such a scale, why not just go full-bore and continue the line due west to travel through a sub-Bering tunnel to reach Russia?

The idea is so unlikely it borders on absurdity, but let's have at it, briefly. Since the Alaskan wilderness became America's last frontier in the 19th century and as the Channel Tunnel – also known as the Chunnel or Eurotunnel – linked England and France by rail in 1994, high-minded dreamers have floated the notion of connecting Alaska and the easternmost stretches of the world's largest geographical nation by a rail span. And although there's glacial-sized challenges to such a project, one of the chief obstacles is that no rail network exists outside of Alaska to connect the crossing with the American and Canadian mainland. Such a massive undertaking could not be justified without linking to both the population and industry centers of Asia, Europe and North America, and the Alberta – Alaska segment would be the most challenging aspect to construct besides the tunnel itself.

At the same time, Russia is already extending its railway network to Yakutsk – the most northeastern reach rails have ever realized – and has approved plans to ultimately continue the route to the Bering Strait as well as supporting a sub-Bering tunnel to Alaska. It should be noted that the level of investment and political will necessary to drive the project in Russia is unsubstantiated.

On the American side, late former Alaska Governor Wally Hickel championed the idea during two terms as the state's top elected official and remained a supporter until his death in 2010. Other state and local leaders in Alaska have discussed the concept, but no plans have ever moved beyond the drawing board.

So, until projects in the United States, Canada and Russia to link the two continents with what would be among the most complex and challenging infrastructure projects in world history, we're left to ponder could someday be a train trip boarding in London and terminating in New York, with stops en-route in places ranging from Warsaw to Winnipeg? What about a Pacific Rim Flyer, originating in Shanghai and arriving in Los Angles or San Diego? Maybe the Cold War Comet express service between Moscow and Washington, D.C.? How about a twin peninsulas route starting in Miami and concluding in Rome? The permutations of globetrotting routes could yield months of daydreams for any rail enthusiast.

By linking much of the world via the same standard gauge rail network could mark a new level of human connectivity and foster new relationships between communities. It's a fascinating idea to consider, especially on days like today's wintry conditions here in Washington, D.C, where a winter ride through Alaska's mountain valleys and Siberia's frozen tundra doesn't seem that hard to fathom...