GLOBAL NEWS — U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he was issuing a presidential permit for the A2A Cross-Border Rail project. The project — which would see a 2,570-kilometre rail track running from near Anchorage, Alaska, through Yukon and the Northwest Territories into northern Alberta — will cost about C$22 billion.
Trump’s approval is just the first step in the regulatory process on the U.S. side.Now, the company will need to go through a U.S. review process and get the necessary licenses and permits for interstate railroad commerce on that side of the border.
On the Canadian side, A2A first needs the project to go through an environmental impact assessment. After that, the company would then go through Canadian federal and provincial approvals for the project.
Christine Myatt, the spokesperson for the office of the premier, said the Alberta government supported the news.
“The Government of Alberta is glad to see the approval of the A2A rail project in the United States,” Myatt said in an email to Global News.
In a July news release, A2A said the project would generate thousands of jobs for Canadians if it is constructed.
“This is a world-class infrastructure project that will generate more than 18,000 jobs for Canadian workers at a time when they are most needed, provide a new, more efficient route for trans-Pacific shipping and thereby link Alberta to world markets,” said A2A Rail Founder Sean McCoshen.
See more HERE.