British Columbia Goes All In on Rapid Transit, Funds High-Speed Rail Study

On Friday, the British Columbian governments declared support for studying high-speed rail from Vancouver to Portland and building out key transit and transportation projects throughout Vancouver’s Lower Mainland. Governor Jay Inslee (D-Washington) traveled up to Vancouver to join his fellow West Coast governors at the annual Pacific Coast Collaborative conference. The theme of the conference was climate change, environmental protection, and trade–topics that set the stage for big announcements later in the day.

Buying In to High-Speed Rail

Premier John Horgan (BC NDP-British Columbia), the progressive leader of the province, stood side-by-side with Governor Inslee to announce $300,000 Canadian in provincial funding for the regional high-speed rail business case study.

“The convenience of a one-hour trip between Vancouver and Seattle would create countless opportunities for people in both B.C. and Washington, from sports or concert getaways for families, to untold economic growth potential for businesses,” Premier Horgan said. “Exploring the possibility of creating a clean, efficient high-speed corridor is particularly important as the Pacific Northwest grows in economic importance, and we look to reduce barriers to expansion across our borders.”

Governor Inslee stressed the economic benefits in his remarks.

“This ultra-high-speed corridor is an exciting proposal for both British Columbia and Washington, aligning with our mutual goal of strengthening our economies through collaboration,” Governor Inslee said. “The early study results show the corridor would help create jobs, generate affordable housing options, ease freeway traffic and clean our air. It’s an exciting step for Washington and British Columbia.”

The December feasibility study indicated that high-speed rail could create immense economic benefits to the region, including 201,200 more jobs, a reduction of 40,000 metric tons on carbon emissions, and billions in additional private economic investment annually. Although only about 30 miles of the route would be built within British Columbia, the high-speed rail connection would provide considerable benefits, boosting tourism, providing a recruiting tool for businesses, and easing cross-border business collaboration.