by lpetrich
Looking at the proposed routes, one of them is the much-discussed one: Vancouver BC - Seattle - Portland - Eugene. The other one is the new one: Seattle - Ellensburg - Yakima - Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, Richland) - Spokane.
As to Portland - Boise, I checked OpenRailwayMap and it would go close to the Tri-Cities. So it would be a simple matter to go there instead. The shortest Portland - Boise route goes along the south bank of the Columbia River, getting closest to the Tri-Cities at Hermiston, OR. That town is some 44 miles from the Tri-Cities.
I'll look at population figures: Vancouver 2.5 m, Seattle 3.8m, Portland 2.4m, Eugene 0.17m, Ellensburg 0.05m, Yakima 0.25m, Tri-Cities: 0.28m, Spokane: 0.56m, Boise: 0.71m.
Seattle to: Vancouver BC: 143 mi, Portland: 174 mi, Kennewick: 213 mi, Spokane (via Kennewick): 353 mi, Boise (via Kennewick): 503 mi
Portland to: Kennewick: 213 mi, Boise: 430 mi
So Seattle - Spokane will be more difficult to justify than Seattle - Portland, even though it has more pork-barrel value.
As to Portland - Boise, I checked OpenRailwayMap and it would go close to the Tri-Cities. So it would be a simple matter to go there instead. The shortest Portland - Boise route goes along the south bank of the Columbia River, getting closest to the Tri-Cities at Hermiston, OR. That town is some 44 miles from the Tri-Cities.
I'll look at population figures: Vancouver 2.5 m, Seattle 3.8m, Portland 2.4m, Eugene 0.17m, Ellensburg 0.05m, Yakima 0.25m, Tri-Cities: 0.28m, Spokane: 0.56m, Boise: 0.71m.
Seattle to: Vancouver BC: 143 mi, Portland: 174 mi, Kennewick: 213 mi, Spokane (via Kennewick): 353 mi, Boise (via Kennewick): 503 mi
Portland to: Kennewick: 213 mi, Boise: 430 mi
So Seattle - Spokane will be more difficult to justify than Seattle - Portland, even though it has more pork-barrel value.