OLYMPIA, Wash. — As the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) continues the initial research phase for a high-speed rail system through the Pacific Northwest, the agency is asking for input from residents and would-be travelers.
The Cascadia High-Speed Rail would weave through a roughly 377-mile corridor through the Cascadia “megaregion,” as labeled by WSDOT, which is comprised of the metro areas of Vancouver, BC, Seattle, and Portland, OR.
By 2050, WSDOT forecasts there will be 3.4 million additional people in the megaregion, more than doubling the percentage of truck trips on Interstate 5 and pushing 80% of interstate traffic toward medium/high levels in Washington state…