The Department of Defense might consider financing an extension of the Alaska Railroad to Fort Greely, an Alaska Railroad Corp. executive said this week.

The proposed railroad link would be used to shuttle vehicles to Army training grounds south of the Tanana River and personnel to the missile defense site at Fort Greely, said Pat Gamble, president and chief executive officer of the railroad.

He presented the idea to defense officials in Washington, D.C. "I definitely think they're interested; there's no question about that," he said.

The idea is being taken seriously in Juneau, where Senate President Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, introduced a proposal on Thursday that would authorize the Alaska Railroad to sell up to $500 million in revenue bonds to finance the project, with the bonds paid off through guaranteed Army contracts making use of the railroad.

The Alaska Railroad terminates at Eielson Air Force Base, southeast of Fairbanks.

Gamble told the Juneau Empire that extending the railroad the roughly 80 miles to Fort Greely, near Delta Junction, would allow the Alaska National Guard soldiers who will staff the missile defense site to live in Fairbanks and commute to work -- with soldiers likely working multiday shifts rather than making the 75- to 90-minute trip twice a day.

The site is expected to be staffed by 110 guardsmen, though Gamble said he believes recent appropriations to missile defense may increase those numbers.

He contends that the $450 million to $500 million railroad project would be a better alternative than having to renovate the worn-out buildings at Greely to accommodate a full complement, and that transporting soldiers over the Richardson Highway would present safety issues.

And, he said, it would be easier to recruit and retain guardsmen if they had access to the amenities of Fairbanks, such as more health care and better job opportunities for spouses.

"The Guard puts value on recruiting people locally and keeping them there for a long period of time," he said.

The other use of the railroad, Gamble said, would be to transport the vehicles of the Army's new Stryker brigade from Fort Wainwright to training areas south of the Tanana River, which are currently only reachable by crossing on river ice in winter.

"The railroad's position was, well, if you're going to have to build a bridge anyway to cross the river, let us build the bridge and we'll put a rail line on it," Gamble said.