Oregon governor's transportation plan calls for high-speed rail

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown late last week released a new transportation plan that calls for establishing high-speed rail in the state.

Brown has expressed support for establishing high-speed rail service between Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland. She has directed the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to work with Washington state, British Columbia and Microsoft officials to finalize a business case study that would refine options for public and private investment in high-speed rail in the area, according to the plan.

"Travel within the Pacific Northwest has become increasingly more difficult and time-consuming, adversely affecting the economy and contributing to air pollution," the plan stated.

In July, British Columbia, ODOT and Microsoft announced a $750,000 investment in high-speed rail service in the Pacific Northwest. That's in addition to $750,000 provided by the Washington State Legislature earlier this year.

The governor's broader transportation plan follows the Oregon Legislative Assembly's passage of a $5.3 billion statewide transportation package in 2017. Brown's plan calls for delivering all the projects in the package on time and on budget.

"We must remain at the cutting edge to help people get to their jobs, get their kids to school, and transport goods to market in a timely and safe manner," Brown said in a press release. "The plan I've released maps out how we as a state will do this while meeting the challenge of climate change at the same time."