The idea of building a high-speed rail between the United States of America and Canada was first brought up last year by a private organization in the USA. The line would run between Vancouver, Seattle and Portland, in the cross-border area called Cascadia. After the idea was put on the table, the Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee, put aside one million dollars for the feasibility study for the project. According to the forecasts submitted by Governor Inslee, the route could be covered in one hour, at a speed of 400 km/h.
The study is decided at a time when the USA transport agencies and departments are keeping a watchful eye on President Donald Trump and his decisions to be able to calculate expectations regarding the federal funding over the next four years for this and other transport infrastructure-related projects. According to Washington State Transportation Center Director, Mark Hallenbeck, the region and route chosen are the perfect place to implement a high-speed rail line. In his opinion, the distance is also relatively small for high-speed rail transport to be advantageous compared to air transport. “If the line gets too much longer, then the airplane’s extra speed would make this better than the train”, pointed out Hallenbeck. Based on California’s high-speed rail experience, it is easily noticed that such a project is not at all inexpensive; on the contrary, it is very costly and may reach tens of billions of dollars. The whole cost of the high-speed rail project linking the USA and Canada was estimated at between 18 and 22 billion dollars. Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation in the Canadian Province of British Columbia, expressed his support for the project. The funds for this cross-border project could be provided by the new Infrastructure Bank, entity that is soon to be launched by the Canadian Government run by the Prime-Minister Justin Trudeau. The new Infrastructure Bank will have a capital of 35 billion dollars and will have powers with respect to using public funds as a lever to attract billions of dollars from private investment to finance major infrastructure projects, including, of course, railway projects. The legislative blueprint for the operation of the Bank also allows for the use of public money to support bankroll projects “in Canada or partly in Canada”, provided there’s a financial benefit and a physical connection to the country where the project is to be built. The Washington State hopes that these guidelines will turn the Infrastructure Bank into a potential long-term high-speed rail financing scheme linking Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, located in the British Columbia (Canada). Despite the high costs, Governor Hallenback said that the option of a high-speed rail is more and more appealing as congestion on highways in the region is increasing and transit infrastructure is improving.
by Elena Ilie
Share on:
