The Washington State department of transportation is hosting a public workshop today to discuss the future of rail travel in the Cascades Corridor.
Included in the proposal is the possibility of adding another stop on the twice-daily Amtrak line between Vancouver and Seattle.
Right now, the train just passes through White Rock. The nearest stop for people living here is downtown Vancouver.
It is something the mayor wants to see fixed.
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“There is about 400-500,000 people who could make use of it. It is very hard to get into Vancouver and that would be a short commute for them,” says White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin.
There is a much closer option – a heritage station in Blaine.
City councils of White Rock, and Surrey, and Delta have signed on to support an additional stop.
The trick is convincing someone to pay for it.
In addition, the recent accident on the I-5 has put rail back in play.
“The I-5 bridge accident has shown how tenuous the transportation links are between British Columbia and Washington, and certainly moving more freight and more passengers by rail is a good idea in the future,” says Bruce Agnew with Cascadia Center.
The market size might be large enough to support an additional stop, but convincing people to use it would require more money, more trains and better timing.
For now, it is an idea a long way down the tracks.
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