Document Type
Thesis
Date of Degree Completion
Spring 2025
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Cultural and Environmental Resource Management
Committee Chair
John Bowen
Second Committee Member
Toni Sipic
Third Committee Member
Kevin Archer
Fourth Committee Member
Yurim Lee
Abstract
While international standard high-speed rail (HSR) has yet to be successfully completed in the US, there is a national interest in the topic, as evidenced by recent federal initiatives to research HSR across various corridors. The Cascadia Corridor has been identified as a region with high potential for HSR, leading to an ongoing study in the State of Washington. Given the tumultuous history of American HSR development, the Cascadia HSR initiative needs to avoid the mistakes of the past. Two major contributing factors to this failure to build HSR are uneven political support for HSR and poor policy frameworks. Despite the importance of these factors, there is little previous research on the politics and policy of HSR, especially when pertaining to the US.
This thesis aims to address this gap in literature by providing an analysis of the politics of HSR and assessing the policy framework needed to successfully build HSR in Washington. For the political analysis, spatial econometric methods were applied to California’s 2008 Proposition 1A vote to understand the political geography of HSR. This was followed by an overview of federal HSR policy in the US, as well as case studies on other American attempts at HSR and a review of the current plan for HSR in Washington. The study found that political ideology is a significant factor in public support for HSR, and that politically influenced transportation planning serves as a potential strategy for improving the political resiliency of HSR. Furthermore, four key policy concerns are identified for successful HSR development: a clear path for financing, strong land acquisition policy, an organized political strategy, and a coherent objective and “message.” The study makes recommendations for Cascadia HSR to address these issues.
Recommended Citation
Hashimura, Landen K., "Assessing High-Speed Rail (HSR) Policy and Politics in Washington State: Avoiding the Mistakes of the Past" (2025). All Master's Theses. 2120.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/2120
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