Letter to the Editor
Railroad expansion
Published Saturday, April 26, 2008
April 22, 2008
To the editor:
I say bravo to Sen. Ted Stevens and John Binkley, chairman of the board of directors of the Alaska Railroad Corp., for redirecting all of the federal money from the railroad realignment project on Fort Wainwright, a project that would be detrimental to the Fairbanks community, to other worthwhile projects that will greatly improve the Army’s mission in the interior.
With the construction of the new Stryker Brigade loading facility off the existing track south of Fort Wainwright, and the extension of the track into the Tanana Flats, the Army will have the new facilities that have been strongly supported by the local Fairbanks Rail Safety and Development Group.
Furthermore, I congratulate the Alaska Railroad’s board of directors for recognizing the need for a southern realignment of the railroad to remove safety hazards, noise and pollution from the Fairbanks and North Pole communities.
Since 2001, there has been a total of 12 resolutions passed by the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Association, our local government, the city of Fairbanks, the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the city of North Pole, supporting a southern bypass of the railroad to improve safety in our communities.
This bypass will also greatly enhance the mission of the Army by removing hazardous operations and security issues within Fort Wainwright and through the Fort Wainwright boundaries.
It will certainly increase the efficiency of operations of the Alaska Railroad.
It is great to see that the railroad has dropped the Fort Wainwright realignment project and will now actively pursue a southern route which, when completed, will obviously be a win-win for all involved. Thanks to the Alaska Railroad board of directors and our congressional delegation for taking the first steps to make this happen.
Community Discussion
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I think it would be cool to have a monorail set up, run by solar power, on tracks built up kind of like the pipeline, that could take tourists on a round trip run. From, say Fairbanks - Chena Hot springs. Think of all the accidents that would be prevented!!
It could have a clear dome over the track that the train went through that would keep the snow off the tracks..solar panels strips along both sides and clear glass above and below to see through & it would be really quiet so it wouldn't scare the animals, that could roam right under it...Doesn't that sound awesome!!! Somebody please tell me if this could work?? LOL
Having electric public transit is a win win for our community all day.
Maybe we could build a train that harnesses the psychic/neurotic energy of the moon. Renewable lunar energy will also keep our homes warm without producing deadly greenhouse gases that enrich the greedy oil companies.
Monoril is not needed for the amount of commercial traffic in our community, and would be a great waist of resources that can be used more wisely elswhere in our community. Monorails still make noise. Keep in mind also with the southern re-rout of the rail realinement plan, that most people refer to, is greatly flawed. It takes the rail road traffic out of one neighbor hood and puts it in another neighbor hood. Designed and promoted by community activists who like to see them selves as leaders. The true best rout for the re-alignment is across the Tanana flats from Nenana. Running the rail road between the Parks Hwy to the flood control dike is really short sighted for the future growth of our community!
NativeAlaskan - make it a loop. Take it out to Fox, with a stop at the Pipeline viewing area, then out to Chena Hot Springs with another stop at the store or laundromat in Two Rivers, From Chena Hot Springs, put in a stop at the Eielson gate before taking it on down to North Pole. From there, take it past UAF and Pioneer Park on the way to the downtown bus terminal. Complete the loop by continuing out to the Johannson shopping district. I'd sure use it instead of driving to town -- a monorail is bound to be better than the Chena Hot Springs Rollercoaster ... excuse me, Road.
RDPool - I hear a lot of naysaying without many counterproposals. Commuter traffic in FNSB is starting to become a problem so maybe NativeAlaskan is onto something good, with tourist use being secondary. Likewise, the current railroad route through Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, and on out to Eielson is a serious accident just waiting to happen. I do like your one proposal, how about beefing it up with details.
Don't stop with the railroad extension to the Tanana Flats, extend the ALASKA railroad to the Alaska/Canadian border and work with the Canadians to extend the railroad to connect with the lower 48 railroad systems, too.
Moving bulk freight by a railroad to and from the lower 48 is cheaper than having the same number of diesel trucks and semi trailers making the trip up the ALCAN Highway. The use of piggy back semi trailers is common in the lower 48 for long haul.
An electric rail system sounds good until you consider that the electricity must be generated by the burning of fossil fuels somewhere, with the present Alternative Energy Investments and Infrastructure.
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