“Washington and Oregon are in line to receive nearly $600 million for projects to increase the speed of trains between Seattle and Portland, Ore., an improvement that could eventually cut an hour from the current 3 1/2-hour trip.” Wouldn’t this be wonderful? Unfortunately… being ’in-line’ for something kind of means that it won’t happen until we’ve forgotten about it all-together. However, I would be so jazzed if there were a high-speed rail that wasn’t expensive. And that’s where my major question lies…

I can take the ‘caps’ bus from Olympia or Tumwater to Portland for… about three bucks? If I’m not commuting for work, why would I take the high speed railway for more money? How many people drive that far for work everyday?

This is coming from the point of view of someone who has no money. I’m sure the rail will be very comfortable, haha.

Really, I would love to see the number of cars and trucks dwindle off into non-existence and be able to walk outside in the morning and not smell exhaust, but is this really possible? Will the rail really cut down on the amount of driving we PNW folks will be doing? By the time the rail is in place, will most cars be hybrids and emissions standards be higher anyway? (HOPE)  Didn’t we need more convenient rail systems… 30 years ago… when hybrids weren’t happening yet? Even if every car were a hybrid, the population growth would beg for mass transit… and upkeep for highways is huge.

As sceptical as I am, I find this terribly exciting. The rail would probably get more use here to Seattle, or for Olympian UW students, which makes me happy! No matter how stuck up I can be about environmental issues and how much time “they” are taking to change important issues, I’d be absolutley crazy if I weren’t excited for this new rail… ”Up to speeds of 110 mph by 2017!” Whee!

To read the official news article on the subject, click RIGHT HERE.

Photo for the article taken from www.news.yahoo.com