The research investigating whether the rail link could sustain itself was completed in December, five months later than originally anticipated. The full feasibility report should be released later this year.

Researcher Paul Metz, of the University of Alaska Fairbanks' Institute of Northern Engineering, said preliminary estimates show that building an 1,100- to 1,200-mile track linking the two regions would cost $11 billion to $13 billion. The Alaska Railroad Corp. would likely oversee the construction and the operations of the Alaska portion of the new rail.

The investment would provide access to resources that could generate $80 billion to $800 billion in natural resource development.

“It's a huge step forward,” Metz said. “For the first time in the 100-year history of the railroad, were can demonstrate reasonably that the private sector can support this endeavor. We were able to show that a case could be made for the rail if the capital costs could be financed by low-interest bonds, and the Alaska Railroad can do that.”

Amanda Leslie, spokeswoman for the organization overseeing the study, said the group hopes to have an executive summary on the data ready to present to Gov. Sarah Palin and Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie by mid-March.

The study will lay out the facts on the feasibility of the project, but will offer no recommendations, Leslie said.

Palin says, however, a rail project to Canada is not on the front burner.

“While the Alaska Railroad is an important part of the infrastructure in Alaska, a line to Canada is not a priority project for my administration at this time,” Palin said in an e-mail. “However, as we evaluate and choose gas line proposals, if Canada is the route, it will become more crucial to work with Canadians on developing a railbelt to help transport goods and services in the construction of the gas line.”

Metz said that along the corridor of the proposed rail link from Fairbanks to the Canadian border, there are nearly 600 mineral occurrences — sites or deposits where the presence of minerals have been identified and recorded.

There are another 2,900 occurrences in the Yukon Territory and 4,400 in British Columbia.

Rail access to those areas could eventually lead to mining exploration and further operations.

Some say the idea of a rail system connecting Alaska to the Lower 48 began in the late 1890s with Edward Harriman, owner of the prevailing Union Pacific Railroad and leader of the 1899 Harriman Expedition, a two-month voyage of the Alaska coast.

The first major study on the connection happened during World War II, when the Army Corps of Engineers surveyed a route from Prince George, British Columbia, to Fairbanks. Time and money whittled the project down to a narrow dirt road called the Alaska Highway.

In 2000, then-Sen. Frank Murkowski introduced the Rails to Resources Act, a bill signed by President Bill Clinton, authorizing $6 million for a joint U.S.-Canada commission to do a feasibility study. The Canadian government had concerns about the economic viability of the rail, so no action was ever taken under this legislation.

After he was elected governor of Alaska, Murkowski signed a memorandum of agreement with the premier of the Yukon Territory to get the feasibility study for the rail system back on track.

The Yukon government appropriated $3 million to the study, while Alaska portion consisted of $2 million of in-kind contributions by UAF and $1 million from the governor's office.

The Alaska Canada Rail Link Inc., based in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, was formed to oversee the study.

Meanwhile, in the early 2000s, the U.S. Army determined it needed better access to training grounds in Interior Alaska. UAF was contracted to conduct an economic analysis and later an environmental impact study on expanding the rail from Eielson Air Force Base to training areas around Delta Junction.

That 80 miles of new track is expected to cost about $625 million, Metz said. The span would include at least five major bridges.

Palin has already taken steps that effectively halted at least two road projects Murkowski barreled through the processes during his term.

The Alaska Railroad currently has links to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and to the Lower 48 through Seattle via barge.

The Canadian National Railway's Aquatrain, operated by Foss Maritime, hauls railcars from Prince Rupert to Whittier every 10 days. Through a partnership with Lynden, Alaska Railroad has a weekly barge connection with Burlington Northern Sante Fe and Union Pacific Railroad, as well as other Lynden freight.

Alaska Railroad ships the equivalent of 10,000 railcars every year through these connections.