It’s absolutely bizarre.
That’s how Delta South Liberal MLA Ian Paton summed up the province’s announcement yesterday that it would invest $300,000 into a feasibility study looking at a potential high speed rail service from Vancouver to Seattle and Portland.
In a joint press conference, Premier John Horgan and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced a partnership to conduct a business case study on the trans-border passenger rail line.
The study will be undertaken over the coming year. Preliminary analysis conducted last year, looking at possible routes and technologies, found the cost could be between $24 billion U.S. and $42 billion U.S. The preliminary analysis also determined it could have over two million annual riders if open for business by 2033.
“I thought I’d seen every bizarre move this government could make in the last couple of months but here’s another one, a study for a $42 billion U.S. rail line between Vancouver and Seattle/Portland. We have so many transportation and infrastructure projects that need to get done within our own province,” complained Paton.
The Delta MLA said Highway 1 to the places like Abbotsford and Chilliwack has terrible congestion which could be alleviated with light rail, as well as Delta and South Surrey.
Horgan on Friday said the high speed link could get cars off the road and move people and goods in a faster, more effective way.
“It’s our view that this is an opportunity that we shouldn’t let pass by,” said Horgan.
Inslee said in the project, which promises 40-to-50 minute travel times from Vancouver to Seattle, and 30 minutes more to Portland, could be a key for future growth.
However, Paton, who already posted a video on his Facebook page blasting the idea of a possible huge B.C. financial involvement, quipped how people would travel in less time than it often takes for someone from White Rock to drive through the aging George Massey Tunnel on a weekday.
“You spend more than 40 or 50 minutes trying to get from Delta or South Surrey through the tunnel to get to Vancouver. Maybe if you work in Downtown Vancouver, you should move to Seattle. You’ll have a quicker commute.”
