Vancouver-Portland ultra-fast train could be self-sustaining by 2055 or earlier: Study
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English - July 16, 2019 19:35 - 10 minutes - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingBusiness News News Society & Culture Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
A new business case study has found that an ultra-high-speed train between Vancouver and Portland, Oregon could be self-sustaining by 2055, or earlier under the right circumstances.
In 2018, B.C. contributed $300,000 to the Washington State Department of Transportation study, which examined whether such a project could attract enough riders and generate sufficient revenue.
The project as proposed would see a train capable of hitting speeds of 400 kilometres per hour linking Vancouver, Seattle and Portland, with intermediate stops between. Travel times between the major cities would be as low as one hour.
The new study, released Monday, found that the project could attract between 1.7 million and three million annual trips by 2040 and generate between US$156 million and US$250 million in fare revenues, making it “one of the best performing rail services in North America.”
That would be enough to cover costs by 2055, according to the study, which also said a 10 per cent boost in ridership coupled with a 10 per cent decrease in operating costs could make it self-sustaining by 2040.
Guest: Bruce Ralston
Provincial Minister for Jobs, Trade and Technology
A new business case study has found that an ultra-high-speed train between Vancouver and Portland, Oregon could be self-sustaining by 2055, or earlier under the right circumstances.
In 2018, B.C. contributed $300,000 to the Washington State Department of Transportation study, which examined whether such a project could attract enough riders and generate sufficient revenue.
The project as proposed would see a train capable of hitting speeds of 400 kilometres per hour linking Vancouver, Seattle and Portland, with intermediate stops between. Travel times between the major cities would be as low as one hour.
The new study, released Monday, found that the project could attract between 1.7 million and three million annual trips by 2040 and generate between US$156 million and US$250 million in fare revenues, making it “one of the best performing rail services in North America.”
That would be enough to cover costs by 2055, according to the study, which also said a 10 per cent boost in ridership coupled with a 10 per cent decrease in operating costs could make it self-sustaining by 2040.
Guest: Bruce Ralston
Provincial Minister for Jobs, Trade and Technology