A three day conference sponsored by Discovery Institute's Cascadia Center began last night high atop the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle at a dinner to honor the mayor of Vancouver, B.C., Gregor Robertson. "His Worship"--a young man, actually, of easy-going sincerity--is part of the team of state and local leaders promoting high speed passenger rail on the West Coast.
The group took the Amtrak "Cascades" trip down to Oregon this morning--a beautiful trip, by the way--and were met by Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Congressman Peter DeFazio, among a host of luminaries. There was excellent media coverage and near-universal enthusiasm for increasing the number of trains from Seattle to Portland and from Seattle up to Vancouver, B.C. (scene of the forthcoming 2010 Winter Olympics). As current tracks are improved and a third track is laid on the Seattle to Portland route, the idea is to increase speeds from the maximum allowed now (79 miles per hour) to 110 or so.
But just improving the tracks and providing more sidings that permit freight trains to let passenger trains pass them will greatly reduce time and congestion.
Passenger rail is a real option for East Coast travelers and for some folks in Chicagoland and, these days, in Southern California. But, as Discovery Sr. Fellow Ray Chambers explains, the dream of a modern national system is still far off.
Ask yourself, what percentage of inter-city traffic should we expect trains to carry nationally? Got a reasonable number in your mind? Then consider that it is less than ONE percent now. There is every reason to make passenger rail a real choice. It has transportation benefits. Environmental benefits. And national security value.
Washington and Oregon are among the most forward-looking states in terms of public backing for passenger rail and the Spanish train company, Talgo, has been an excellent partner for the past decade. Once really good service is available, chances are good that other areas will catch the fever.
