Cascadia corridor population, now 7.7 million, will increase 40 percent in the next two decades. But intercity travel will increase 75 percent. In not too many years we will either be forced to add lanes on I-5 at a cost of some tens of billions of dollars, or build alternatives. An alliance of private and government organizations is advocating a rail line that would reach 125 mph. It would also cost far less to build fast rail from Eugene to Vancouver, B.C. than expand the freeway on a small portion of that route.
Trains are a big part of the solution to our mobility dilemma.
Others are also vital. One is to change our relationship with the car through cooperative car ownership. Car coops already exist in Europe and Canada. Imagine if you could hop the fast train from Portland to Seattle, pick up a car at a coop lot near the station, and drop if off when you're ready to make the return run. It would be a lot safer, saner and energy-efficient than driving a car up just to have it available.