Perhaps Delta residents should move to Seattle to have a faster commute to Vancouver.
Delta South MLA Ian Paton has that to once again suggest in response to a recently released report on a proposed high-speed rail link connecting Vancouver, Seattle and Portland, which found such a system would cut the travel time between each city to under an hour while providing a big boost for the economy of the region.
High-speed train/Pexels
鈥淭he big joke was when I told the government that with the congestion at the George Massey Tunnel, I said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e telling me that at 400-kilometres-an-hour you could be from Seattle to 麻豆传媒映画in less than an hour? Maybe the people from South Delta and Surrey should move to Seattle and take the train every morning to Downtown 麻豆传媒映画because you鈥檇 get there sooner than waiting to get through the George Massey Tunnel.鈥� It鈥檚 ridiculous,鈥� said Paton.
The B.C. government last year contributed $300,000 to the Washington State Department of Transportation business case study which has found the high-speed rail system could be self-sustaining by 2055 or sooner.
In a joint press conference last year, Premier John Horgan and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced a partnership to conduct the study on the trans-border passenger rail service. Oregon and Microsoft also participated.
The train would be capable of speeds of 400 kilometres per hour linking the Pacific Northwest cities with intermediate stops yet to be determined. A previous study estimated the cost of the project between US$24 billion and US$42 billion. Construction could begin as soon as between 2027 and 2034.
Noting there鈥檚 a plethora of much needed transportation infrastructure projects that are needed in this region, let alone future projects that would serve more local residents such as light rail into Delta and the valley, Paton said the NDP government 鈥渋s completely out to lunch鈥� on the idea.
鈥淲hen you look at the issues we have just within British Columbia with Highway 1 heading out towards Langley, Abbotsford and Chilliwack, which is a complete nightmare of a traffic parking lot, and the North Shore, the George Massey Tunnel and even Highway 1 on 麻豆传媒映画Island, these are huge priorities of traffic,鈥� said Paton.
鈥淏.C.鈥檚 already put money toward studies of this high-speed rail to Seattle, but the obligation to these other things are way more important. How many people on a given day will tell you they want to go to Seattle that morning? It鈥檚 just a non-starter,鈥� he said, adding there鈥檚 already an Amtrak train from 麻豆传媒映画to Seattle.
鈥淒oes the B.C. premier suggest we should go working down there or do our shopping down there?鈥� asked the Liberal MLA.
Asked for his take on the study, Delta Mayor George Harvie said the province should be focusing on the George Massey Tunnel replacement because it鈥檚 urgently needed now.
Bruce Ralston, Minister of Jobs, Trade and Technology, in a statement last week said, 鈥淭his study is part of the necessary good work that鈥檚 being done to give us a clearer picture of the feasibility of ultra-high-speed rail service between British Columbia, Washington and Oregon. Improving the connectivity in the Pacific Northwest region presents enormous potential for job creation, economic growth and environmental benefits on both sides of the border鈥�. B.C. committed $300,000 to develop this study in March 2018, and in February 2019, committed an additional $300,000 to the next exploratory steps. As this work continues, we look forward to continuing discussions with the State of Washington and other partners.鈥�
