These Super-Fast Future Trains Could Get You from Portland to Vancouver, Canada, in Under Three Hours

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