Vancouver and Portland sign agreement supporting high speed rail
 

The mayors of Vancouver and Portland have signed an agreement supporting high-speed rail, to enhance the existing train service between Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Portland Mayor Sam Adams cited economic and environmental benefits, and say a high-speed line will go a long way in providing an environmentally friendly option for transportation which will help in sustainable development. Robertson will be presenting the agreement to council and asking for support during the next City Council meeting.

While visiting Portland, Robertson also repeated his commitment to lobbying the federal government to drop its $1,500 daily charge on a second Amtrak train to Vancouver. Robertson says a second cross-border train would help the city's hard-hit tourism industry and strengthen economic ties with the Pacific Northwest.
http://www.news1130.com/news/local/m...28_162619_7092

Railways r never environmental friendly. How many ppl would actually use this system? Cars run when they'r needed, rails run regardless if they'r needed or not.

I hope the rail fares are reasonable and it stops at PDX. Cheap flights for everyone! :D

Not a bad idea, I rather not wait in lines and drive 4 hours at times...

I had originally heard this line would include a stop in Seattle, that would be a no brainer IMO. this is great news though. day trip to Seattle or Portland w/o all the hassle of stopping at the border.

how fast is this "high speed rail" anyhow?

^ Good question.
Might end up slow XD
We need bullet trains.

Bullet train would be the best, but I doubt we have enough funding!

one step closer to the North American Union!

thats awesome, tax free shopping for everyone!

when i heard about it in the radio, it's really exciting!

but when you come to think about it.. it took like 3 years for the crappy line to build... which was only 15-20km in length

YVR-PDX is like 600km... that's a 30x bigger project

it's going to take 90 years to finish! LOL

Would you pay $40 each way just to go shopping???

The construction in city is very different than rural areas.

If this HSR plan does go through, I'd imagine they would run on more remote areas with enough connection to existing infrastructures. For example, running from Surrey Center to outer Portland.

This way, the plan benefits not only the transportation purpose but also developments around the stations.

But this is really cool, imagine traveling to PDX in a lil over 2 hrs. Tax free shopping, here I come!

This would be sweet! My dad works in Portland so visiting him would be a lot easier. He can also take the train back to Vancouver as well.

if it was $40 it wouldn't be bad.. gas would be way more than $40 there and back lol

I would.

You have to factor in gas and the 5-7 hour drive there (depending on border/traffic) and I think that time and gas is worth paying $80 for. I did the drive from Vancouver -> Portland last weekend and it was brutal haha

so fucking true. anyone who thinks $40 each way to portland isn't a smoking deal hasn't taken in the ass on the drive down to portland.

i find it near impossible to avoid rush hour in seattle or portland regardless of what time i leave. and chilling on the train having some dranks would be pretty enjoyable.

But who goes shopping alone?

When you get there, you're at the mercy of their transit system. The good outlet mall is more than 30 mins away from downtown by car and there are several other good malls outside of downtown, let alone checking out other sites. The time saved on driving and at the border, quickly get eaten up using public transit unless you take a cab (+ $$$). To visit the Portland and surrounding areas I'd rather drive w/ friends and make it an overnight stay.

I do like the idea of using it as a shuttle to the airports and avoiding lineups though.

now if only they could connect this to tracks to san franciso and LA. and if it was a bullet train.