At 1745 daily an Amtrak Cascades train pulls out of Vancouver and heads south to the US.
It is scheduled to arrive in Seattle, in Washington State, four hours and 20 minutes later. Even allowing for customs at the border it is hardly a speedy way to cover 157 miles (252km), although the scenery is nice.
But if Washington State's Department of Transport succeeds in grabbing some of the cash on offer from the other Washington - 2,300 miles away - the Pacific Northwest could yet see some of the best rail services in the US.
America's long-distance network fell into long-term decline in the 1930s. But Barack Obama - encouraged by his rail-enthusiast Vice President Joe Biden - wants the once-mighty railroad to make a contribution to economic rebirth.
Getting serious
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act sets aside $8bn (£5bn) for new high-speed services. That's not huge - lines will cost a minimum of $30m (£20.6m) a mile to build from scratch.
But President Obama has spoken of rail with such enthusiasm that some in the industry can barely believe how quickly things are changing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8010221.stm
It is scheduled to arrive in Seattle, in Washington State, four hours and 20 minutes later. Even allowing for customs at the border it is hardly a speedy way to cover 157 miles (252km), although the scenery is nice.
But if Washington State's Department of Transport succeeds in grabbing some of the cash on offer from the other Washington - 2,300 miles away - the Pacific Northwest could yet see some of the best rail services in the US.
America's long-distance network fell into long-term decline in the 1930s. But Barack Obama - encouraged by his rail-enthusiast Vice President Joe Biden - wants the once-mighty railroad to make a contribution to economic rebirth.
Getting serious
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act sets aside $8bn (£5bn) for new high-speed services. That's not huge - lines will cost a minimum of $30m (£20.6m) a mile to build from scratch.
But President Obama has spoken of rail with such enthusiasm that some in the industry can barely believe how quickly things are changing.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8010221.stm