NDP stumps up $300K to study merits of high-speed rail link

Service would connect Vancouver and Portland in less than 90 minutes

Premier John Horgan chipped in $300,000 on Friday to the US$1.2 million that Washington state has committed to keep making a case for a US$40-billion high-speed rail link from Vancouver to Portland.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee characterized investing in such a project, which promises 40- to 50-minute travel times from Vancouver to Seattle and 30 minutes more to Portland, as a “monument to optimism” for future growth in the region.

The money will go into writing a business-case study for the project, after a feasibility study that Washington released in December hinted at potential annual ridership of 1.8 million and billions of dollars in economic spinoffs.

“There were no showstoppers in the feasibility study,” Inslee said during the joint announcement with Horgan on Friday, “so we are really pleased to have a premier who has joined us in a mutual investment for the second step of this analysis.”

Inslee said Oregon Gov. Kay Brown has also committed to proceeding with the business case.

Horgan said he and Inslee talked about high-speed rail when they met in Victoria last fall, and he wants the province to do its “due diligence on our side of the border to make this a reality.”

“Today, we announced $300,000 for the business case to take into consideration the whole range of issues and engage with communities along the corridor, and what the corridor will ultimately be.”

One of the issues will be how to avoid the delays and cost overruns that California is experiencing with its foray into high-speed rail.

The Los Angeles Times reported last week that cost estimates for the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco bullet train proposal had ballooned to US$77.3 billion, up by $13 billion from estimates two years ago, and could soar to almost $100 billion.

We have the advantage of going to school in California. Any mistakes they’ve made, we’re going to ... learn from it. JAY INSLEE, Washington state governor

“We have the advantage of going to school in California,” Inslee said. “Any mistakes they’ve made, we’re going to put it in the bank and learn from it.”

Horgan said the governments need to go through the business case first to get some of those answers, but he pointed to China and Japan as places where high-speed rail lines have run successfully for decades.

“It’s our view this is an opportunity we shouldn’t let pass by,” Horgan said. “It’s a physical link between our jurisdictions that will take cars off the road and will move people and goods in a safe and effective manner.”