BELLINGHAM, WA (KGMI.com) – The prospect of a high-speed train through Bellingham has taken another step forward.

WSDOT says that $500,000 in federal grant money will go toward the Cascadia High-Speed Rail Program.

The 250 mile per hour train is projected to take just an hour to travel from Seattle to either Vancouver or Portland.

However, a request from state Congressmembers for $198 million to support the full amount of the proposal was not part of the 2023 federal funding cycle.

The money granted will instead be used to determine possible costs, schedules, and other planning related to the high-speed rail.

Another $500,000 federal grant was also awarded for both WSDOT and Oregon’s DOT to create a comprehensive long-term plan for the Amtrak Cascades route.

A draft of that plan was initially supposed to be available for public comment last month, but has not yet been released.

Starting on Monday, two more round-trip services between Seattle and Portland will be added to Amtrak Cascades’ schedule.

It begins despite a days-long shutdown of the route caused by landslides.