§306 DUTIES.

Summary

Require the Commission to study whether Alaska’s railroad can be extended from its northeastern end to connect with Canada’s rail network. The study must use all available information and look at rail engineering, land ownership, geology, nearby resources (like mines, timber, and tourist sites), market prospects, environmental and social effects, and possible ways to pay for the project. The Commission must also consider if power lines and fuel pipelines could share the same corridor with the rail extension. If the project looks practical and sensible, the Commission must pick one or more recommended routes, weighing cost, distance, access to freight markets, environmental issues, existing road or transport corridors, the World War II Army Corps of Engineers survey route, and other relevant factors. The Agreement must make the Commission send a report with its findings and route recommendations to Congress, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and Canada’s Minister of Transport no later than 3 years after the Commission commencement date.