Indigenous group proposes rail link between Alberta tar sands and Alaska

An indigenous group known as G Seven Generations Ltd. (G7G) wants to build a railway to carry from the Alberta tar sands to the marine terminal in Valdez, Alaska. The company revealed its proposal at the International Indigenous Summit on Energy and Mining in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

As part of the group's aims to find alternative ways to handle the shipment of oil in the region, they are seeking to impose a moratorium on supertankers off Canada's west coast.

According to G7G director Matt Vickers, the rail link is a viable alternative to the oil pipelines currently being planned through British Columbia. Also, the rail solution avoids the environmental risks of pipelines.

The proposed railway could run northwest from Fort McMurray, Alberta to join the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System at Delta Junction, Alaska, a distance of more than 2,000 kilometres. The cost of the first phase of the project is estimated to be $12 billion.

The project has the support of First Nations in Yukon and BC, as well as support from Alaska Tribes along the proposed railway route.

A complete feasibility study remains to be completed for the proposed project and will be carried out over the coming months, G7G said.