The Honourable Janet Austin, OBC,Lieutenant Governor at the Opening of the Fifth Session, Forty-first Parliament of the Province of British Columbia. The throne speech 02/11/2020 outlined priorities for the government. Good news for people believing in high speed rail between Vancouver and Seattle/Portland. Here is a quote from the speech. "British Columbians can look forward to more options like rapid transit, HOV lanes and commuter rail out to the Fraser Valley, and high-speed rail connections with our neighbours to the south."

We do like the hype that is happening regarding the release of the Vancouver to Seattle High Speed Rail Study. Here are some media highlights: 1. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is optimistic about creating a high-speed train to connect Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle. LINK 2. Washington state is exploring whether Canada's new infrastructure bank could help finance a multibillion-dollar proposal for high-speed rail between Vancouver and the U.S. northwest. LINK 3. Premier John Horgan talks about high-speed rail connecting Vancouver and Seattle and some potential issues. LINK 4. A blog asking the question, Crossing the Border: Is The High-Speed Rail A Good Idea For Vancouver? LINK We at High Speed Rail Canada are supportive of modernizing the Seattle to Vancouver passenger rail route. A few salient points that would have to be addressed are: Cross Border Crossing Times - It killed the Toronto-Sarnia-Chicago train and would have to be resolved. Cost - Early estimates suggest...

GCR News -   The US state of Washington has announced that it will spend $1m on a feasibility study into a 230km high-speed rail link between Seattle, Portland in Oregon, and Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The idea of a high-speed line to link northwestern cities is not new – the Pacific Northwest Corridor is one of 11 possible high-speed routes identified by the US government in 1992 – but no steps have been taken to set such a project in motion. The issue is back on the agenda partly because of increasing congestion on the region’s roads and airports, and partly because Bill Gates and Satya Nadella, his successor as chief executive of Microsoft, have teamed up with politicians and other business people to support the idea. Read the rest here.  http://www.globalconstructionreview.com/news/washington-state-wei7gh-30bn-seatt7le-vancou7ver/