FAQs

Selecting a route will be the result of a robust public engagement process after potential alternatives and service options are identified.

A trip between Seattle and Portland or Seattle and Vancouver will reliably take approximately one hour on the ultra-high-speed system along a route that is largely straight and flat. Today, those same trips take at least three hours by car or air. Planning between 2026 and 2028 will identify potential route(s) to realize a one-hour trip.

WSDOT’s 2019 Business Case Analysis assumed between 21 and 30 daily roundtrips between Portland, OR and Vancouver, B.C., including both express and local service options. The number of trains, travel time between stations, and station locations will be the result of a robust public engagement process and technical analysis.

WSDOT’s 2019 Business Case Analysis assumed between 21 and 30 daily roundtrips between Portland, OR and Vancouver, BC., including both express and local service options. The number of trains, travel time between stations, and station locations will be the result of a robust public engagement process and technical analysis.

WSDOT’s 2019 Business Case Analysis projected high demand for faster trips between Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR with more than three million annual trips on an ultra-high-speed system. This compares to 2.6 million personal miles traveled on I-5 in 2019.

Travel by rail is one of the safest modes of travel with some of the lowest accident rates per mile of any mode. Automobiles result in more than 7 passenger deaths per billion passenger miles compared to virtually none by high-speed rail, according to the 2019 Business Case Analysis.  Japan has operated high-speed rail since 1964 and achieved an impressive record of no fatalities or serious injuries.

WSDOT’s 2019 Business Case Analysis assumed the ultra-high-speed system would be operational by 2040. Based on recent Northwest and national projects, planning, alternatives analysis, and environmental review for the more than 300-mile corridor could take as long as 10 years. How long construction takes will be determined by the alignment, number of stations, and other factors.

High-speed rail will be integrated with existing transit and Amtrak service. Planning will identify opportunities for connections to existing buses, commuter rail, light-rail systems, and Amtrak Cascades, expanding access to high-speed rail.

Additional planning, route development, station identification, and engineering is needed to estimate costs. In comparison, WSDOT estimates that adding a lane in each direction of Interstate 5 through the state would cost approximately $108 billion in 2018 dollars.

It is too soon to know how much it will cost to ride the system. The cost of a ticket will be based on a variety of factors, such as stations, number of trips per day, and type of service (local versus express).

An ultra-high-speed system will provide a faster, more affordable, and reliable trip for people and connect them to good-paying jobs and more affordable housing, making our region more equitable for everyone. Our region also strives to increase access to public transportation through reduced fare programs like King County’s ORCA Lift for low-income households.

We must continue to invest in transportation, maintain the system we have and plan for the future. We expect nearly 4 million more people moving to the Cascadia region by 2050. If we don’t act, our current problems — congestion, housing affordability and climate change — will only get worse.

With an expected 30% increase in our megaregion’s population over the next 30 years, we need more capacity in our transportation system. The capacity of a high-speed rail line typically exceeds the peak capacity of a four-lane interstate highway or a two-runway airport. WSDOT estimates building enough lanes to address just today’s congestion would require as much as a $2.50 per gallon gas tax increase.

It’s not a choice between an ultra-high-speed system or airplanes. With nearly four million people moving to the Cascadia region in the next 30 years, we need capacity in all modes of travel.

The Cascadia region is expected to grow by nearly 4 million more people by 2050 and the sustainability of our region depends on being able to travel without contributing to climate change. High-speed transportation will reduce the need to expand Interstate 5 and connect urban centers, encouraging greater density, walking, biking, rolling, and riding local transit.

Yes, WSDOT is planning future investments in Amtrak Cascades. Federal funding is being used to update a preliminary service development plan to identify needed investments for future funding requests.

In 2022 the Washington State Legislature directed the Joint Transportation Committee to conduct an independent review of the past studies on high-speed ground transportation. The Environmental Justice Council established by the Washington State Legislature will also provide recommendations on programs funded by the Climate Commitment Act.

WSDOT, working in partnership with British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Transit, Oregon Department of Transportation, and Metro, will begin engagement in 2026.

Over the next three years, WSDOT will identify possible funding strategies, including public-private partnerships like the Brightline high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.