Is A Portland-Seattle-Vancouver Bullet Train A Reality? Lawmakers Dedicate Money To Study
Listen
The Washington Legislature has approved further study of a super-fast train from Portland to Seattle to Vancouver, BC.
The Legislature passed and sent to the governor’s desk a supplemental transportation budget which includes $1.2 million for a consultant to prepare a “business case analysis” of bullet train service from Portland to Vancouver, BC with stops in between.
Lawmakers have qualms about the costs, but Senate Transportation Committee Chair Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, said the governor really wanted to press ahead.
“I have my doubts of course, but if there is a possibility—with all the population coming in to Washington state, especially the Puget Sound area—if there are ways we can get cars off the road then we should try to explore that,” Hobbs said. “Let’s let the study go forward and see what happens.”
The business case analysis would build on a feasibility study completed in December. That first study assumed the railway or tube to enable travel speeds in excess of 250 miles per hour would require a substantial amount of tunneling at potentially “astronomical” cost.
The Democrat-controlled Legislature gave the Washington State Department of Transportation a June 2019 deadline to deliver the business case analysis report. Gov. Jay Inslee originally asked for $3.6 million to prepare a comprehensive analysis of ultra-high speed rail in Cascadia, but that funding request was slashed by the Legislature.
Copyright 2018 Northwest News Network
Related Stories:
Hearing On Washington Amtrak Derailment Zeroes In On Problematic Curves
The engineer operating the doomed Amtrak 501 train traveling from Seattle to Portland on Dec. 18 last year told investigators the train had a different control panel and displays than what he was used to. Continue Reading Hearing On Washington Amtrak Derailment Zeroes In On Problematic Curves
Oil Train Safety Rules Getting Rolled Back By Trump Administration
Chris Hooper, right, of White Salmon watches the fire caused by a derailed oil train in Mosier, Oregon, near Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge on Friday, June… Continue Reading Oil Train Safety Rules Getting Rolled Back By Trump Administration
By Bullet Train From Portland To Seattle To Vancouver, BC? Feasibility Study Underway
With an assist from Microsoft, Washington state’s Department of Transportation has launched a feasibility study of bullet train service in Cascadia. Late this spring, the Washington Legislature budgeted $300,000 for a… Continue Reading By Bullet Train From Portland To Seattle To Vancouver, BC? Feasibility Study Underway
