B.C. commits another $300K to research high-speed train to Seattle, Portland
British Columbia is continuing to study the feasibility of a high-speed train linking Vancouver with Seattle and Portland, in partnership with Washington state and Oregon.
On Tuesday, the province announced it was investing another $300,000 to study the construction of a high-speed rail network in the region.
B.C. has now invested $900,000 into the feasibility study, with the province contributing $300,000 during a previous study in 2019, and another $300,000 during research in 2020.
The province entered a memorandum of understanding with Washington state to jointly review the economic and environmental impacts of opening up a bullet train between the two regions in 2019.
Oregon joined an updated MOU with the two other jurisdictions in late 2021 to further the study.
Previous phases of the study estimated that construction of a high-speed rail line could generate up to $355 billion across the three regions, and create as many as 200,000 jobs.
Earlier feasibility studies also estimated that the rail line would annually see between 1.7 million and 3.1 million one-way trips by 2040, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about six million tonnes over 40 years.
Construction of the project is estimated to cost $42 billion, with revenue covering the cost of the project by 2055.
"Improving transportation connectivity throughout the Pacific Northwest is an important part of our work to build a stronger, more sustainable future for people on both sides of our border," said B.C. Premier John Horgan in a release Tuesday.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee added that a future high-speed rail system could strengthen "economic and cultural bonds" between both countries.
Washington has promised US$4 million for this next leg of the study.
According to the B.C. government, high-speed rail trains can travel up to 400 km/h. Previous studies into the topic said a trip from Vancouver to Seattle could take under an hour with a bullet train.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.