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Title 49 — TransportationRelease 119-90

§306 Duties.

Title 49 › Subtitle SUBTITLE V— RAIL PROGRAMS › Part E— MISCELLANEOUS › Chapter 281— LAW ENFORCEMENT › § 306

Last updated May 14, 2026|Official source

Summary

Require the Commission to study whether it is possible and advisable to extend Alaska’s railroad from its northeastern end to connect with Canada’s rail network. The study must use available information and look at engineering, land ownership, geology, nearby resources (minerals, timber, tourism, etc.), market outlook, environmental effects, social impacts on resource use, and ways to pay for the project. If the Commission finds the link feasible, it must pick one or more recommended routes, weighing cost, distance, market access, environmental issues, existing ground corridors, the World War II Army Corps route, and other relevant factors, and consider placing power lines and pipelines in the same corridor. The Commission must report its findings and route recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of Transportation, and the Canadian Minister of Transport within 3 years after the Commission commencement date.

Full Legal Text

Title 49, §306

Transportation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

“(a)“(1)The Agreement should provide for the Commission to study and assess, on the basis of all available relevant information, the feasibility and advisability of linking the rail system in Alaska to the North American continental rail system through the continuation of the rail system in Alaska from its northeastern terminus to a connection with the continental rail system in Canada.
“(2)The Agreement should provide for the study and assessment to include the consideration of the following issues:
“(A)Railroad engineering.
“(B)Land ownership.
“(C)Geology.
“(D)Proximity to mineral, timber, tourist, and other resources.
“(E)Market outlook.
“(F)Environmental considerations.
“(G)Social effects, including changes in the use or availability of natural resources.
“(H)Potential financing mechanisms.
“(3)The Agreement should provide for the Commission, upon finding that it is feasible and advisable to link the rail system in Alaska as described in paragraph (1), to determine one or more recommended routes for the rail segment that establishes the linkage, taking into consideration cost, distance, access to potential freight markets, environmental matters, existing corridors that are already used for ground transportation, the route surveyed by the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II and such other factors as the Commission determines relevant.
“(4)The Agreement should also provide for the Commission to consider whether it would be feasible and advisable to combine the power transmission infrastructure and petroleum product pipelines of other utilities into one corridor with a rail extension of the rail system of Alaska.
“(b)The Agreement should require the Commission to submit to Congress and the Secretary of Transportation and to the Minister of Transport of the Government of Canada, not later than 3 years after the Commission commencement date, a report on the results of the study, including the Commission’s findings regarding the feasibility and advisability of linking the rail system in Alaska as described in subsection (a)(1) and the Commission’s recommendations regarding the preferred route and any alternative routes for the rail segment establishing the linkage.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

49 U.S.C. § 306

Title 49 — Transportation

Last Updated

May 14, 2026

Release point: 119-90