Transportation
These Super-Fast Future Trains Could Get You from Portland to Vancouver, Canada, in Under Three Hours
New stats suggest that high-speed rail could transform the Northwest.
Imagine 2040. Travelers between Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, British Columbia, zip along in ultrafast trains, as a newly finished transnational system unites a vast “megaregion.” That’s the vision in a new study released by the Washington State Department of Transportation. Big-picture argument: fast trains good. Details? This super-preliminary study alone weighs in at 400 pages. Some of its standout numbers:
250 MPH
Potential top speeds for trains linking the “Cascadian megaregion’s” major cities
60–90
Approx. travel time, in minutes, between Portland and Seattle on high-speed system
160K
New jobs high-speed rail could generate, directly and indirectly
6M
Metric tons of CO2 emissions that could be avoided over 40 years
3.1M
Estimated annual riders
$24–42B
Estimated system construction costs
ALMOST ALL
Intercity air travel high-speed rail could replace in the region
