SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD GRANTS "ALASKA RAILROAD'S" PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION & OPERATION OF 80-MI. RAIL EXTENSION TO DELTA JUNCTION, ALASKA

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>From the Surface Transportation Board, Washington, D.C.
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The Surface Transportation Board announced today that it has granted the
request of the Alaska Railroad Corporation (ARRC, a state-owned railroad)
to construct and operate a new, 80-mile railroad line—the Northern Rail
Extension—in the State of Alaska, subject to extensive
environmental-mitigation conditions.


After considering the entire public record before it, including
both the transportation aspects of ARRC's proposal and potential
environmental issues, the Board was satisfied that the proposed
line would provide reliable, year-round freight and passenger
service to the region south of North Pole, AK; access to training
areas used by the United States military; and an alternative
to the Richardson Highway, now the sole means for surface
transportation of commercial freight in the proposed project
area. The Board was also satisfied that the proposal would foster
development of Alaska's economy by expanding ARRC's passenger and
freight network to an area currently without rail service.


Today's action follows the Board's analysis of the September
18, 2009 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) issued by
the agency's Section of Environmental Analysis (SEA) concerning
ARRC's proposal. SEA was assisted by several state and Federal
agencies, and considered the numerous comments from the public
during the environmental-review process. The FEIS reflected
SEA's careful comparison of potential alternatives to the
proposal to identify environmentally preferred rail alignment
alternatives, as well as conditions to avoid, minimize, or
mitigate potential environmental impacts. The Board was satisfied
that the preferred rail alignment alternatives it authorized,
along with the environmental conditions the Board imposed,
would avoid, minimize, or mitigate, to the extent practicable,
potential environmental impacts.


The full text of the Board's decision in Alaska
Railroad Corporation—Construction and Operation
Exemption—Rail Line Between North Pole and Delta
Junction, AK, STB Finance Docket No. 34658 
( http://www.stb.dot.gov/decisions/readingroom.nsf/WebDecisionID/40274?OpenDocument ), can be found on the Board's Web
site, http://www.stb.dot.gov.


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