Premier John Horgan & Washington Governor Jay Inslee announce funding to study ultra-high-speed corridor service connecting Vancouver, Seattle, Portland. (Tanya Fletcher/CBC).
The B.C. government will be contributing $300,000 to a business case study into a proposed high-speed train service that would connect Vancouver, Seattle and Portland.
Premier John Horgan made the announcement with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee in Vancouver on Friday.
According to Horgan, the study will look at a corridor service that would cut travel times between Vancouver and Seattle from three hours to around 60 minutes. It will examine ridership levels, system development, delivery methods and financing. High-speed trains on that service would travel up to 400 kilometres per hour.
“The convenience of a one-hour trip between Vancouver and Seattle would create countless opportunities for people in both B.C. and Washington, from sports or concert getaways for families to untold economic growth potential for businesses,” said Premier Horgan. “Exploring the possibility of creating a clean, efficient high-speed corridor is particularly important as the Pacific Northwest grows in economic importance, and we look to reduce barriers to expansion across our borders.”
Earlier this month, Washington state legislators committed $1.2 million US ($1.6 million CAD) to conduct the analysis of the idea.
Inslee said the study will be finished “within the year.”
“This ultra-high-speed corridor is an exciting proposal for both British Columbia and Washington, aligning with our mutual goal of strengthening our economies through collaboration,” said Inslee.
“The early study results show the corridor would help create jobs, generate affordable housing options, ease freeway traffic and clean our air. It’s an exciting step for Washington and British Columbia.”
Another study, presented in December, looked at which types of trains that could be used, possible routes, ridership forecasts and estimated costs.
It found the line could cost as much as $42 billion — largely depending on the type of train used — and that it could take decades to recover the cost.
With files from CBC
CHEK News
