EVERETT — After pursuing a $198 million grant from the federal government, the state received just $500,000 to continue planning an ambitious high-speed rail project that would link Seattle, Portland and Vancouver, British Columbia, with a potential stop in Snohomish County.
The grant is a drop in the bucket for the project’s total cost. In 2017, construction cost estimates ranged from $24 billion to $42 billion.
On Monday, several Democratic members of Congress representing Washington, including Rep. Rick Larsen of Everett, penned a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration reaffirming their support for high-speed rail development.
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“This visionary project will not only bring travel up to 250 mph between cities along this route, but also lead to better jobs, affordable housing, climate initiatives, increased tourism and economic growth,” states the letter signed by Reps. Larsen, Pramila Jayapal, Suzan DelBene, Derek Kilmer, Adam Smith and Marilyn Strickland.
Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and his colleagues applauded the $500,000 award and encouraged future investment, even as the project was looked over by bigger grants.
“As Washington continues to invest in intercity passenger rail and identify new opportunities to bring high-speed rail to the region, we want a strong partnership with FRA to make these projects a reality,” they wrote.
The $500,000 will be used to develop a scope, schedules and cost estimates for future plans, according to the state Department of Transportation.
In August, transportation department spokesperson Janet Matkin said construction wouldn’t start for at least a decade. Washington’s high-speed rail project wasn’t awarded the larger grant, meant for priority projects ready to begin construction.
Matkin had said there will “likely be a stop or stops in Snohomish County, but exactly where is not yet known.”
If there were a stop in Everett, riders could get to downtown Seattle in 15 minutes. Details like exact stations and stops remain unclear.
In addition to the high-speed rail grant, the state was awarded an additional $500,000 to fund improvements to the Amtrak Cascades services.
A $500,000 grant was also awarded to explore the restoration of the North Coast Hiawatha train, a long-distance line connecting Chicago to Seattle along with many rural communities in North Dakota and Montana.
The route operated for eight years and was discontinued in 1979.
Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.
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