SEATTLE, Wash. — Traveling from Seattle to Portland or Vancouver in under an hour is one step closer to reality.
This month, the U.S. Department’s Federal Railroad Administration awarded nearly $50 million in funds to help plan an ambitious high-speed rail system in the Pacific Northwest.
The Cascadia High-Speed Rail would reach upwards of 250 miles per hour.
With the federal funding combined with a state funding match of $5.6 million means there’s enough money for the project to head into the next planning phase.
What’s next?
Transportation workers will begin route planning, looking at environmental impacts, and creating initial designs for the railway.
Passenger rail travel is growing in the Pacific Northwest. According to a news release on the project, over 900,000 riders traveled on the Amtrak Cascades Route in 2024—that’s a 40% increase from the year before.
Amtrak Cascades trains can only reach about 80 miles per hour and a trip from Seattle to Portland will take more than three hours.