The op-ed piece in the Columbian on Nov. 27 concerning the possibility of a sizeable grant to study high-speed passenger trains from Portland to Seattle to Vancouver, B.C., struck a note for me. I have driven these routes and experienced the many changes for over 40 years. Back then, one thought about “gassing up” before leaving Seattle to drive to Portland, as the few stations along the way might be closed. Growth comes, things change, but one constant that has struck me through all that time, is what I think is obvious: We cannot build highway infrastructure fast enough to support the growing population in any sensible way. High-speed rail transport for people is not novel or far-fetched. With the addition of 3 million more folks in the region over the next 30 years, the article states that “it will only get worse.” It will also only get more expensive.
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