Plans for high-speed train from B.C. to Oregon lands federal award

The idea of building a high-speed rail line that could carry people from Vancouver, B.C., to Portland, Ore., in roughly two hours has landed nearly $50 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The vision for a Cascade corridor with rapid transit linking the region and its innovation economy has been around for more than a decade. Over time, its supporters have expanded to include tech companies such as Microsoft and local, state and national elected leaders. The hoped-for trains would travel at speeds of up to 250 miles per hour.

Yet progress on the idea has been less than fast paced.

In 2017, Microsoft gave $50,000 to a $300,000 effort led by Washington state to study a high-speed train proposal. In 2021, officials from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia signed a memorandum of understanding to form a committee to coordinate the plan.

Then one year ago, the Cascadia route was accepted into the federal Corridor Identification and Development Program managed by the Federal Railroad Administration to take the first step in creating plans for the line.

Microsoft President Brad Smith made his pitch for the rail service in November at the annual Cascadia Innovation Corridor conference.

“It’s really about building connections from Vancouver to Seattle to Portland and everywhere in between so that we can work more effectively together to create jobs, to drive innovation, to bring together work among our universities, to improve transportation and address climate,” Smith said in an interview with Portland’s KGW-TV.

Thirteen federal lawmakers from Washington and Oregon wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in September asking him for support so the effort could advance to the Corridor ID Program’s step two and identify a route. The corridor stretches 345 miles and includes a growing population of 10 million residents.

On Wednesday, leaders celebrated the federal grant and advancement of the effort.

“This funding will enable the state to work with locals to develop the best possible high-speed passenger rail route and someday give Washingtonians the option to skip the highway and reach their destination faster,” said Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, in a statement.

The fall letter to Buttigieg noted that the state of Washington and the private sector have contributed more than $150 million to the planning and development of high-speed rail, including $25 million for step two of the federal program.

“This federal award is an important step forward for the Cascadia High-Speed Rail project and will support critical planning, community engagement, and initial design activities,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington.

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