[Trainguy]

Originally Posted by ClaytonA

The previous 2006 long range plan for HSR between Vancouver, BC, and Portland Oregon had a White Rock Bypass:



IIRC it had the alignment on the previous page directly beside Hwy 99.
Here's their latest plan: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/NR/rdonlyres...ActionPlan.pdf

I wonder if any of the pencil pushers understand railway engineering. Hwy 99 from near Colebrook to the border is by no means flat. There is a steep incline followed by a slow decline as is gets close to a point where it would rejoin the rails at the border. BNSF would never go for that. Besides increased fuel costs, the wear and tear on locomotives and rolling stock would be significantly increased. Who pays for that?

If the government makes a push for relocation, it would have to start on the Canadian side at the current border crossing. The people of Blaine are not complaining about the railway where it is so they would never agree to disrupt their community with a relocation so some people in White Rock/Cresent Beach can have their way. The only real alternative is to tunnel under White Rock/Surrey. Tunneling is expensive and as we recently found out with the Evergreen Line tunnel, problems and issues always arise. Tunnels also require constant maintenance. Who will pay for that going forward?

All the diesel exhaust has to go somewhere and is usually vented through a series of fans for longer tunnels like this one would be. This means trains have to wait for the poisonous gases to be cleared from the tunnel before the next one can use it. How does that help the BNSF?

Who would be affected on the North portal of the tunnel? I bet those residents would fight the relocation tooth and nail.

As I said earlier, $900,000 won't tell us anything more than we already know now but maybe it will silence the relocation voices once and for all.