High Speed Rail (Seattle, Vancouver: pros and cons, living in, safe)

[mea-oh]

So it's official: there's going to be (relatively) high speed rail from Eugene, OR up to Vancouver, BC, going through Portland and Seattle. How do you all feel about it?

There's already a train going from Seattle to LA, but it's quite slow. This will be faster.

Thoughts?

[azoria]

I'm 100% in favor of any and all kinds of public transit.

[Ira500]

Me too. Especially choo choos.

[Huckleberry3911948]

better a slow safe trip in ye old ford escort than getting mugged on the walk to the train.

[eskercurve]

I think it is laughable that the US is the ONLY advanced economy in the world without some form of high speed rail system. Europe has the Eurostar, Japan has the Shinkansen, and China has their own high speed rail system too.

That said, I am curious to see the business case for the Eugene - Portland - Seattle - Vancouver BC route.

I fail to see how people who are going to do business in Seattle will care? It only takes 3 hours by car from Vancouver BC, and only 3-4 hours in a car to Portland. Further, in my opinion, neither Portland nor Eugene have much to offer that would entice a tourist to stay for more than a day trip, and a train ticket will be much more expensive than gas, and while it would offer the ability for a day pass, it really wouldn't make much more sense than that.

ON THE FLIP SIDE, this would be a boon for people who want cheaper housing and work in Seattle or Vancouver, especially if they have multiple stops along the way. I've been on the Shinkansen and trust me, having multiple stops isn't defeating the purpose by a whole lot. Those babies can sure go!

I also think to people living in the Boston - NYC - Philly - DC corridor this would also make a lot of sense because of the population density. Same goes for the San Diego - Sacramento route, with a branch to Phoenix potentially.

So, while it would be nice, I do not think it is a "must have" for the Pac NW. Now if it would bypass customs traffic ... and have cheap "day trip" fares to Vancouver of Portland ... then I'd be interested.

[Blindtom]

This should be great for the area, especially long term.

[Ira500]

I also think to people living in the Boston - NYC - Philly - DC corridor this would also make a lot of sense because of the population density.

They've already got the Metroliner, which goes 90+ mph, but I think with track upgrades it's going to do 125 mph?

[mea-oh]

More than anything, I think all of these initial plans are great starts. I'm glad Seattle will be included in that start, because as it expands I want Seattle to be involved. Maybe initially getting to Vancouver or Portland isn't all that enticing, but if it eventually connects to SF or Chicago, and is truly high speed, it could be fantastic!

[jr75]

I'm all for it. We have to start somewhere and connecting the PNW would be great until we can expand to SF and LA. Since this is a federal project, How is it that a Canadian city is part of the plan? Just wondering how the Canadian govt. is working with the U.S. on this and if there are other examples of cross border infrastructure projects.

[westcoastcountryboy]

and a train ticket will be much more expensive than gas

A one -way ticket now from Vancouver to Eugene is only $67. I don't think you can drive that far for that little so, for one person the train would make more sense. I agree though that if you're talking families you would have to weigh the pros and cons