Opinion: Any future Bering Strait railway must start with Anchorage

For more than 35 years — from the era of Soviet perestroika to today’s geopolitical headlines — proposals to connect Asia and North America by rail through a Bering Strait tunnel have captured the imagination of engineers and policymakers. Russian, American, Korean and Chinese researchers regularly publish maps showing a bold line stretching across Alaska toward Canada. Yet one crucial question is usually left unanswered: How would the railroad actually cross Alaska? Too often, Alaska appears on global maps as empty white space — a place where a straight line can be drawn without regard for mountains, permafrost, wildlife refuges…