In my view a fast and reliable bullet train from BC to Portland (or even better, down to Eugene) would supercharge the entire PNW region economically speaking.

Not only would it improve business connections between major cities, but it would also make it much more viable to live and develop all of the towns along the corridor. More affordable places to live and commute from without being completely isolated from the jobs and culture of three amazing cities. On top of that, tourism within the region could boom, both as people who live in one city might regularly visit the others, but also because people who are visiting from outside of the region would have easy access to the combined interest of all of them.

When you look at how the shinkansen totally transformed Japan and the potential economic upsides that could come from the investment, it seems like a no-brainer to me.