The company that has proposed building a rail line connecting Alaska to the rest of the North American rail network has filed for bankruptcy protection and may be sold to pay debts. Bloomberg reports Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corp. — which promoted itself under the A2A label — received protection from a Canadian court after the receiver of a lending firm called a $149 million loan.
A2A is the largest debtor of Bridging Finance Inc., which was put in receivership by Canadian regulators while Bridging is investigated for alleged improprieties [see “Digest: Texas Central signs $1.6 billion contract …,” Trains News Wire, May 4, 2021]. Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which is now overseeing Bridging, called the A2A loan earlier this month, leading to the bankruptcy.
In a statement on its website, A2A says it will conduct a sale and investment process to pursue refinancing of the loan. The sale could include assets including engineering, permits, and agreements that have been part of the project. “The company will keep a core team together during this process in Canada and the Unitd States,” the statement reads, “and will maintain ties with its large engineering, permitting, marketing, and stakeholder outreach teams.”
A2A sought to build a $22 billion, 1,600-mile line from oil-sand areas in Alberta — where it would have connected to existing rail lines — to ports in Alaska, in part because it believed opposition would prevent a planned pipeline from those oil-sand fields to Canadian ports [see “Canadian development company renews push for rail line …,” News Wire, April 9, 2019]. President Donald Trump issued a permit for the project in September [see “Digest: Trump indicates approval coming for proposed Alaska rai link,” News Wire, Sept. 28, 2020].
A2A said in its statement that it still believes the concept is sound and that it has made significant progress toward full financing. It also indicated the project would continue without founder Sean McCoshen, who is linked to some of the alleged improprieties involving Bridging Finance.
Not surprised. Given the current border situation between the U.S. and Canada.
China had proposed a railway line to Canada through Siberia in Russia and a 124-mile tunnel beneath the Bering Strait to Alaska and then Alberta. The proposed Alberta – Alaska line could become a segment of the route from China.
Russia would need to adopt standard gauge on its section of the line as its rail network is broad gauge.
Still don’t think going to Alberta is the smartest move…might as well just look at reactivating the former BCRail line that went to Fort Nelson or the aborted extension to Dease Lake, as those make more sense and are shorter than going to Alberta(tar sands or no tar sands).
One of the bullet points on the map says that Alaskan ports are four days closer to Asia than any west coast ports. That seems like a stretch. Anchorage’s approaches are not deep enough for large container ships, and I would think Whittier and Seward would have restricted capacity without a lot of money. Shipments arriving in Whittier/Seward would first have to spend half a day getting to Fairbanks before heading down south roughly 1,800 miles to Edmonton. How did anyone loan them $ 149 million?
The constant spelling and grammar errors in the daily news reports should just be embarrassing to Mr. Wrinn and senior management of the magazine. But apparently it is not, since its been an issue for a couple of years now. Seems like having a proofreader on staff might be a good investment.
David P. Morgan used to laud the proofreading and editing skills of Rosemary Entringer before she retired. Now many major publishers, including university presses, publish books without bothering to do much, if any, proofreading and editing. It’s not just Trains.
I guess it’s just getting harder to find folks who can read…or spell.
“debts of lone”? Really guys?
(Slow clap)