Finally, Some Investment in Rail


From the Daily Journal of Commerce: “Vancouver port’s $100M rail project gets on track

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9 responses to “Finally, Some Investment in Rail”

  1. …(T)he port must first convince city residents to vote down an August ballot measure that would kill a port tax hike meant to pay for the property purchase.

    Northwest ports and train companies say all of the region’s train traffic would benefit from the project. Highway traffic would also eventually decrease, they say, as more cargo moves off of trucks and onto trains as the rail system capacity grows.

    Even then, I’ll bet they’ll still say it’s too jammed up to seriously think about commuter rail. Other than this, I don’t know anything about the tax increase or the push for/against the ballot measure (think I saw those folks at Van Mall once, I think the idea was more along the lines of letting the voters have a say in the matter), but I wonder if they were to throw that idea into the mix so it would benefit both businesses and commuters if that would create more local support for the project.

  2. Here’s another good quote from the article:
    Oregon rail support pales next to Washington’s

    It’s unlikely that any of the remaining projects, which would cost about $115 million combined, will begin any time soon – mostly because they’re on the wrong side of the border.

    Overall, the Willamette Valley is lucky to have local Amtrak (Cascades) service and it’s mostly on the coat tails of Washington state.

  3. The interesting question is, do the railroads themselves have to apply for the ConnectOregon funds, or can somebody apply in the railroad’s name? (This is very similar to the problem they had getting the state to consider using open source software. The state asked companies to submit bids, and the open source community didn’t submit one, so the state wouldn’t consider it. But if someone just submitted a bid, (even for $0,) then the state could actually evaluate the stuff, and decide if it actually met their needs.)

  4. My understanding is that a company could apply for ConnectOregon funds, if they wanted to build a reload (truck to rail or vice-versa) facility; but if a shipper wanted the state to improve the railroad tracks, no, the railroad would have to apply.

    As for the value of Portland-Eugene rail service, the ridership potential (based upon travel patterns) pales compared to Portland-Seattle. The demand just isn’t there. The ridership on those trains averages out to fill up one or two busses; yet requires three or four crew members and a 3,200 horsepower diesel locomotive.

  5. As for the value of Portland-Eugene rail service, the ridership potential (based upon travel patterns) pales compared to Portland-Seattle. The demand just isn’t there. The ridership on those trains averages out to fill up one or two busses; yet requires three or four crew members and a 3,200 horsepower diesel locomotive.

    Why assume we have to use the same equipment in the Willamette Valley that we use for PDX-SEA? That’s just what we do now. In the future I envision a fleet of smaller, lighter rail cars throughout the valley, possibly self-propelled, possibly DMUs (although I understand there are specfic objections to the Colorado Railcar DMUs). These could have lower operating costs in fuel and labor, allowing right-sized vehicles to travel more frequently.

    I however wouldn’t assume that because there are currently 2 trains daily, leaving EUG at 5:45 and 9 in the morning and arriving at 8:50 and 11:45 at night, that there simply is no demand for service. Maybe Eugeniuses don’t like those times so much (I didn’t as a UO student).

    In the meantime though a well-connected network of motorcoaches would be an improvement over the patchwork of systems that exists today. This is a governance issue. There is no transportation authority for the entire Willamette Valley other than the state. Such an authority, with its own revenue, could make improvements to rails in the valley, improving freight and passenger service.

  6. Perhaps if we connected the other major public university – OSU – not to mention the 60,000 residents of Corvallis – it might help boost rail ridership a bit, too. Lots of college students don’t have cars, and providing alternative transportation to 50,000+ college students in Oregon might help boost ridership overall.

    Not to mention there already is a rail line that runs right through downtown Corvallis and (almost?) connects Eugene to Albany…

  7. ^^^ There’s that argument over transfers again…

    Yea, and for the average person, it would save far more time to wait for someone to drive down to Portland and pick you up than to wait for a bus, then wait while waiting for your train in Albany. I suspect noone does that now, seeing as very few people board the train in Albany.

    Why does a smaller town like Albany even have rail access in the first place?

    Albany has 0 attractions, and Corvallis has a huge student population who would be likely to ride it – particularly during Beavers games, which, besides population, are two things that Albany completely lacks.

  8. Q. Why does a smaller town like Albany even have rail access in the first place?

    A. To move freight.

    If there is such a market for Oregon intercity travel other than by car why hasn’t a private bus company provided a level of service/price in order to serve that demand and make a ton of money? Or does providing that service require the construction of a hundred-million dollar rail line?

    Have you read the most recent I-5 rail report from ODOT Rail which categorically states that commuter rail is a complete waste of money at this time and in the foreseeable future?

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