Costly WA Democratic Bullet Train Idea Meets Stiff Opposition

A plan pushed by WA State Democrat legislators, including Senator Marko Lias, would cost the state billions which opponents say the state doesn't have.

Democrats send a letter to Transportation Secretary

According to sources including MyNorthwest.com, Lias, and others sent the letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, asking for a $198 million grant to set up or plan for the project.

Their idea is for a high-speed bullet train that would run from Portland, OR through Vancouver WA, and Seattle then to Vancouver B.C.

Lias claims the continued growth of the west-wide corridor will result in hundreds of thousands more people, if not a few million more, living there. He said the state needs to press for more options to move people, freight, and commerce.

However, the price tag has drawn stiff opposition from other leaders, including GOP House Rep Andrew Barkis. The estimated cost of such a project is said to be anywhere from $24 to $42 billion, money with Barkis says the state doesn't have. He also pointed out there are other far more pressing current issues funding needs to be directed to.

According to sources at CalMatters, a group that covers CA news, the original cost of their bullet train project started by Gov. Gavin Newsome four years ago was supposed to be $22.8 billion. In 2019 he claimed it would be ready to run by 2030, but now CalMatters reports the project is expected to cost $128 billion, leaving it over $100 billion over budget.

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The project has been hampered by excessive cost overruns and a slew of lawsuits from environmental and citizen groups who don't want the line(s) to run through their neighborhoods or certain ecosystems.

Barkis says the same would happen in the Pacific NW, as soon as the projected route of the rails is put on a map, the lawsuits will come.