Portland Eugene Train Service: Oregon Considers Increased Service

PORTLAND, OR – The region is growing and the state doesn't believe that existing rail service will be able to handle the growth. As a result, Oregon Department of Transportation officials have been working with the Federal Rail Administration to study what to do about the problem.

A new report by the agencies takes an in-depth look at three proposals, one of which is doing nothing.

The report, an environmental impact statement, looks at the benefits and how the changes will affect the surrounding areas. Get all the latest information on what's happening in your community by signing up for Patch's newsletters and breaking news alerts

Officials say that the Willamette Valley population is expected to grow to 3.6 million over the next 20 years, a 27 percent increase.

"As population and the economy grow, so does the demand for travel," the report states. "With more people and more jobs each year, Oregon’s transportation infrastructure is facing significant pressures.

"In several areas of the state today, transportation infrastructure has inadequate capacity, and the system lacks the multimodal transportation options that Oregonians need."

The three options that are presented in the report are:

• TAKING NO ACTION – This plan is pretty much as it sounds. Keeping the current system the way it is now. Officials say that they don't support this idea but included it in the report as something on which to compare the other proposals;
• ALTERNATE 1 – This plan would pretty much keep the existing routes the way they are. Work would be done on 64 trin crossings to accommodate additional track. The plan would cost between $870 million and just above $1 billion. It would keep trains running at a maximum of 79mph and almost double ridership to 739,000 from 390,000. It would also speed up the travel time from Portland to Eugene by 15 minutes, to 2:20 from 2:35;
• ALTERNATE 2 – This proposal would involve the most work and could cost between $3 billion and $4.4 billion. It would bring ridership to 723,000 and lower the travel time to 2:02. This plan would allow trains to reach speeds of 120mph along what would be newly-built sections of track. This plan would involve building new sections of track between Soringfield and Oregon City while keeping the route between Oregon City and Portland.

ODOT and the FRA consider the first alternative to be their preferred option.

In reaching that conclusion, officials say that they considered several factors including:

• Rail corridor – Reasonable and feasible rail alignment improvement alternatives from Eugene- Springfield, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington
• Service characteristics – Passenger rail operational elements, train speeds, travel time, train frequency and train technology
• Potential stations – The general location of potential passenger rail stations.

Oregon says that they are accepting comments from people through December 19.

There are several ways to comment:

• Online Comment Form: You can comment anytime.
• Online Open House: Participate in an online open house between Nov. 28 and Dec. 18, 2018. Stay tuned for more details.
• In person: ODOT is holding five open house and public hearing events. The meeting locations are ADA accessible.
• Email: Send your comments to info@oregonpassengerrail.org

ODOT will also host five public town hall meetings – one wach in Portland, Oregon City, Albany, Salem, and Eugene. Go here for more information.

You can read the whole report here.

Map via ODOT.