Port of Vancouver Receives $15 Million for High Speed Rail Improvements

Port of Vancouver Receives $15 Million for High Speed Rail Improvements

 VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Port of Vancouver has been awarded $15 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s high speed rail program. The announcement came today from U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood as part of a national investment program to speed up trains on the U.S. system.

The grant will be invested in the port’s West Vancouver Freight Access (WVFA) project, a multi-year, multi-phased effort to improve the movement of freight through the port and reduce congestion on the regional rail system. The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) funding will be specifically invested in construction of rail access point at the east end of the port that is separate from the mainline. The project will reduce delay on the freight and passenger mainline by up to 40 percent while tripling the port’s rail volume during the coming years. Construction on this $38 million project element will begin by April 2013, with scheduled completion in January 2016.

“This award demonstrates how our partnerships with the Washington State Department of Transportation, our congressional representatives and the BNSF Railway Company have effectively demonstrated the passenger and freight rail benefits of this project to the region and the national rail system,” said Port of Vancouver Executive Director Larry Paulson.  The grant is part of $2.02 billion awarded by the USDOT for 22 high-speed intercity passenger rail projects, part of a nationwide network that will connect 80 percent of Americans to high-speed rail in 25 years.

With completion anticipated in 2017, the $150 million West Vancouver Freight Access project is expected to attract more than $400 million in rail related private-sector investment and create between 1,000 and 2,000 new, permanent jobs. In addition, the project generates an anticipated 4,000 construction jobs over the life of the project.

About the Port of Vancouver USA

The Port of Vancouver USA, created by Clark County taxpayers in 1912, is one of the major ports on the Pacific Coast. Its competitive strengths include available land, versatile cargo handling capabilities, vast transportation networks, a dependable labor force and an exceptional level of service to its customers and community. For more information, please visit us at www.portvanusa.com.