Officials look into high-speed train from Spokane to Seattle

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Officials are looking into the logistics of a high-speed train from Spokane to Seattle.

The Washington Department of Transportation published a study in December that looked at how well an ultra-high-speed train system would work in the Cascadia Mega region, which is about a 350-mile stretch including Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia.

The East-West Corridor, a possible new train line from Seattle to Spokane, would theoretically connect to the BNSF mainline south of Seattle. It would run along Stampede pass and go through Ellensburg, Yakima, Tri Cities and on to Spokane.

But the idea does not include ultra-high-speed trains. At most, the trains would go about 90 miles per hour, which is still faster than the current 76 miles per hour speed trains go from Spokane to Seattle.