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Transportation advocates applaud state’s receipt of federal high-speed rail funding

Seattle, Wash. (Jan. 28, 2010)—Three leading advocacy organizations in Washington State hailed White House announcements granting Washington State $590 million to further develop intercity passenger rail along the Cascades Corridor between Seattle, Wash., and Portland, Ore.

Bruce Agnew, director of Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute said, “Washington fared well because the state’s grant was superb, and our partners in Washington, British Columbia and Oregon have committed over $1 billion in operations and capital investments. Also, the Cascades is an extremely popular service, as noted in part by the hundreds of people who gathered in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver for high-speed rail rallies last spring and summer.”

“Washington State is on its way to having world-class passenger rail,” said Loren Herrigstad, president of All Aboard Washington. “World-class passenger rail is something most of our main economic competitors have received benefit from for some time. Nations from France and Japan to South Korea, even Argentina, and especially China, know that frequent, convenient, and fast passenger trains mean good jobs, sustainable mobility, and vibrant, enjoyable regions and communities.”

“Obama’s high-speed rail announcement is great news for residents across Washington State,” said Rob Johnson Executive Director of Transportation Choices Coalition. “Increasing the frequency and speed of rail service on the Amtrak Cascade corridor will give residents in the Pacific Northwest the choice to hop on the train and travel in a more economical and environmentally friendly way.”

Contact(s):

Lloyd Flem for All Aboard Washington
(360) 870-6286; washarp@q.com

Bruce Agnew for Cascadia Center of Discovery Institute
(206) 228-4011; bagnew@discovery.org

Andrew Austin for Transportation Choices
(253) 732-9434; andrew@transportationchoices.org

Cascadia Center

Founded in 1993, as the Cascadia Project, Discovery Institute’s Cascadia Center for Regional Development is an important force in regional transportation and sustainable development issues. Cascadia is known for its involvement in transportation and development issues in the Cascadia Corridor, Puget Sound and in the U.S.-Canadian cross-border realm. We’ve recently added to that mix through a major program to promote U.S. efforts to reduce reliance on foreign oil, including the earliest possible development and integration of flex-fuel, plug-in, hybrid-electric vehicles.