# Pacific North West High Speed Rail **URL:** \ **Category:** meta\ **Created:** [June 17, 2022, 7:28pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421 "2022-06-17T19:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MarshallKnight](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/marshallknight/32/40545_2.png) [@MarshallKnight](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/MarshallKnight)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 10:05pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/21 "2023-03-01T22:05:55Z")
I don’t really see it as inevitable at all. We can estimate travel times along that spine, using current projections and a little back of napkin math: Vancouver - Seattle: 1:00 Seattle - Portland: 1:00 Portland - Sacramento: 2:30\*\* Sacramento - San Francisco: 1:00\*\*\* Sacramento - Los Angeles: 2:20 Los Angeles - San Diego: 1:20 \*\* 2:30 for Portland to Sacramento is generous, considering the mountainous terrain would likely bring down average speeds by quite a bit, but this is just a thought exercise. \*\*\* I’m estimating an hour between Sacramento and SF assuming trains would use the planned Merced County wye. This could be significantly shorter if a second Sacramento to SF leg is ever built, but none is planned. Vancouver to San Diego would clock in at ~8 hours, 10 minutes. Trips from SF would be ~3 hours, 30 minutes to Portland, ~4 hours, 30 minutes to Seattle, and ~5 hours, 30 minutes to Vancouver. Seattle to Los Angeles (which I assume this would be the highest demand route along the corridor after LA to SF and LA to SD) would clock in at ~5 hours, 50 minutes. For HSR to take hold, it needs to be competitive with the alternatives. These HSR travel times obviously blow car travel out of the water, and for some of the shorter trips (Northern California to Southern Oregon, for example) I foresee them taking plenty of cars off the road. But it’s hard for me to see droves of travelers opting for a four-and-a-half hour train ride from SF to Seattle when a two hour flight is an option, or a nearly six hour ride from LA when a three hour flight is an option. Price could be a deciding factor; both the cost of the system and the cost to consumers. That mountainous terrain between Shasta and Eugene is hard for me to look past. It makes tunneling from Burbank to Palmdale look like kids’ stuff, and I’d expect a crossing to cost tens of billions. And as a rider, does that get baked into the price of my ticket? My hope is that regulators start making regional air travel much more expensive as these systems start to open up. Levy taxes and fees on short distance air travel and put that towards the construction, maintenance and operation of HSR, and subsidize train tickets (not unlike LA’s proposal to use congestion pricing for cars to finance Metro projects). ---
**Author:** ![F.Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/91b2a8/32.png) [@F.Wright](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/F.Wright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2023, 6:28am UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/22 "2023-03-02T06:28:11Z")
Great points. Cap and Trade for transportation seems to be the key to the success of something like this. I also think you’re underestimating how much more willing people would be travel by train than by air. Lots people HATE flying these days. ---
**Author:** ![mcart](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mcart/32/84718_2.png) [@mcart](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/mcart)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/23 "2023-06-12T14:36:26Z")
> **[A new Seattle-area airport isn't feasible -- let's focus on conservation and...](https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2023/06/a-new-seattle-area-airport-isnt-feasible-lets-focus-on-conservation-and-high-speed-rail.html)** > > There is no "acceptable site" for a big brand new airport anywhere in this region, and no amount of research, planning, or consultation can change that. The state could spend a fortune on more studies and outreach and it wouldn't make a difference. > **[Weekend Reads | Keeping a High-Speed Rail Project On Track | South Seattle...](https://southseattleemerald.com/2023/06/10/weekend-reads-keeping-a-high-speed-rail-project-on-track/)** > > by Kevin Schofield This weekend’s read is a new report from the University of Washington’s Department of Urban Design and Planning that tries to lay out the best practices for building out a potential high-speed rail project in the corridor from... ---
**Author:** ![mcart](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mcart/32/84718_2.png) [@mcart](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/mcart)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/24 "2023-06-21T18:34:50Z")
> **[Independent review: Washington bullet train costs underestimated](https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_438f72e6-0fa2-11ee-a97f-3bf2915e7fd4.html)** > > (The Center Square) - The Washington Legislature since 2018 has looked at a potential ultra-high-speed train that would run from Vancouver, B.C. through Seattle to Portland, Oregon, to be paid ---
**Author:** ![mcart](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mcart/32/84718_2.png) [@mcart](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/mcart)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/25 "2023-12-10T15:20:21Z")
> **[Feds Grant $1 Million to Study Cascadia High-Speed Rail and Amtrak Cascades...](https://www.theurbanist.org/2023/12/09/feds-grant-1-million-to-study-cascadia-high-speed-rail-and-amtrak-upgrades/)** > > Washington State came up short in its bid for a larger $198 million grant to advance high-speed rail planning. On Friday, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) unveiled its selection of rail projects that will be getting a windfall via President... ---
**Author:** ![mcart](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mcart/32/84718_2.png) [@mcart](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/mcart)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 6:40pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/26 "2024-04-14T18:40:38Z")
> **[VOTE: How do you feel about high-speed rail in Washington state?](https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-king-street-station-demonstrators-push-high-speed-rail-washington-vote-pulse-poll-wsdot)** > > From 2-6 p.m. Friday, a group of rail advocates will be out trying to spread the word about the push for high-speed rail in Washington state. ---
**Author:** ![Waymond\_Womano](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/waymond_womano/32/7078_2.png) [@Waymond\_Womano](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Waymond_Womano)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 11:25pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/27 "2024-04-14T23:25:58Z")
What’s the point? No one who is alive today will ride the Pacific Northwest high-speed rail in their lifetime. And anyone who thinks otherwise is an abject fool. ---
**Author:** ![mcart](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mcart/32/84718_2.png) [@mcart](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/mcart)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/28 "2024-04-14T23:52:46Z")
What’s the point in advocating for a better future even though you might not enjoy it? Well I like to think most people would like to see their children or nieces or nephews or grand whatever, have a better world to live in when they’re alive. ---
**Author:** ![mcart](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/mcart/32/84718_2.png) [@mcart](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/mcart)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2024, 1:37pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/29 "2024-05-01T13:37:46Z")
> **[Map shows proposed Pacific Northwest high-speed rail route](https://www.newsweek.com/map-proposed-pacific-northwest-high-speed-rail-route-1895594)** > > The Biden administration provided a $500,000 grant for the Cascadia High Speed Rail project last year. ---
**Author:** ![Waymond\_Womano](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/waymond_womano/32/7078_2.png) [@Waymond\_Womano](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Waymond_Womano)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2024, 1:18pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/30 "2024-12-21T13:18:37Z")
> **[Federal money moves Pacific Northwest high-speed rail forward | HeraldNet.com](https://www.heraldnet.com/news/federal-money-moves-pacific-northwest-high-speed-rail-forward/)** > > The $50 million will fund route planning, community outreach and more. It could have a stop in Everett. ---
**Author:** ![Waymond\_Womano](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/waymond_womano/32/7078_2.png) [@Waymond\_Womano](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Waymond_Womano)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 11:01pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/31 "2025-03-19T23:01:52Z")
> **[The long road to superfast trains in the Pacific Northwest](https://www.seattletimes.com/business/the-long-road-to-superfast-trains-in-the-pacific-northwest/)** > > High-speed trains are common throughout the world, but America is far behind. Changing this will require investment and political will, Jon Talton writes. ---
**Author:** ![stache](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/stache/32/30186_2.png) [@stache](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/stache)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2025, 2:11pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/32 "2025-03-20T14:11:38Z")
Fat chance seeing how Amtrak is about to be gutted. ---
**Author:** ![Waymond\_Womano](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/waymond_womano/32/7078_2.png) [@Waymond\_Womano](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/Waymond_Womano)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2026, 3:55pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/33 "2026-05-19T15:55:16Z")
> **[Portland leaders push Oregon to back Cascadia high-speed rail as economic...](https://www.kptv.com/2026/05/15/portland-leaders-push-oregon-back-cascadia-high-speed-rail-economic-strategy/)** > > The high-speed rail corridor would connect Portland to Seattle and Vancouver B.C. ---
**Author:** ![stache](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex019/user_avatar/forum.newyorkyimby.com/stache/32/30186_2.png) [@stache](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/u/stache)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2026, 1:59pm UTC](https://forum.newyorkyimby.com/t/pacific-north-west-high-speed-rail/21421/34 "2026-05-20T13:59:42Z")
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