$4 million to renovate Union Station, $5 million to study/plan the Oregon section of the “Cascadia Corridor”.
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$4 million to renovate Union Station, $5 million to study/plan the Oregon section of the “Cascadia Corridor”.
13 responses to “Oregon lands $9 million HSR funding”
Union Station needs work, but what we really need for HSR is a station at Rose Quarter.
I second Douglas’ comment! I would add… also a realignment of high(er)-speed rail across the CRC!
We should be thinking more regionally while these two capital projects are being planned at the same time!
The train station needs to stay at Union Station
I’m with jon that the train needs to stay at Union Station. Don’t make the mistakes that other cities have made. Look at Salt Lake City for example, two perfectly good depots with rails removed for the 2002 olympics, which was not necessary.
Anyone know about this 150 MPH number from the article? Last I heard we were just going to get a more modest bump to about a maximum of 110 MPH.
While I think that the train station for high-speed rail should be in the Rose Quarter, I feel that it is still possible to keep slower-speed rail going through the existing train station.
High-speed rail cannot have a lot of turns if it wishes to maintain high speeds. Having a hairpin turn across the steel bridge, which is one of the most congested bridges in all of Oregon does not bode well for consistent train service.
Depending on how creative we want to get, perhaps we could find a way to connect Union Station and the Rose Quarter with a pedestrian-bike bridge that would better facilitate connections between the two stations.
High-speed rail won’t be travelling at high speeds anywhere near the station, whichever it is. While there are reasons to want a station near the RQ (better connections to MAX, and avoiding the need to cross the Willamette in both directions), it ain’t gonna happen for $4 million.
No, $4 million won’t build a station at Rose Quarter. But we should be planning a multi-modal station there — high-speed rail (faster with no hairpin turns and river crossings), maybe commuter trains, intercity buses (combined Amtrak/Greyhound station), and possibly even river traffic (cruise ship dock?) on the Willamette, with walking connections to all four MAX lines, the Portland Streetcar, many Tri-Met buses and possibly other bus systems.
And no, we shouldn’t “remove” Union Station, but we could repurpose it as a public market or a museum or for some other public use.
No one is proposing “high speed rail” for this corridor…only “higher speed rail.” Which will be a big improvment over what we have now.
A train every hour that gets you to Seattle in under three hours and Eugene in under two will attract a lot of riders.
re Union Station…As I recall you can catch the TGV in Geneva CH, and it does not turn on the speed until its a bit out of town. Even the Cascasdia moves at a pretty good clip thru NW Portland. When the Eastbank Freeway is finally torn down, the rail line can be buried which will allow a bit more speed from the south as well.
The near perfect multi-modal station including HSR is the Memorial Coliseum. We own the National Register Building and it could be easily modified as a 21st century station. It has lots of sq ft and a killer view of downtown , which would be a fine entrance to the city for visitors. HSR Trains don’t have to cross the river twice , Max is there and streetcar is close. Turn Union Station into a farmer’s market / sustainability center for all the foodies in the pearl…
I think this was Jim Howell’s idea years ago. It involves a lot of money for not that much benefit in my view.
When real HSR comes maybe its worth a look as part of what will be overall a very expensive project.
Anyone know about this 150 MPH number from the article? Last I heard we were just going to get a more modest bump to about a maximum of 110 MPH.
150 is the long term goal for some segments between Vancouver and Eugene. I forget exactly where these are, but with proper track, grades, angles and grade separations it can be done (but not with the current trains in operation.)
No one is proposing “high speed rail” for this corridor…only “higher speed rail.” Which will be a big improvment over what we have now.
By federal definitions, it will be high speed rail. According to the FRA high-speed rail is defined as having a speed above 110 mph. Washington’s DOT is already planning for that from Portland to Seattle by 2030.
The city-center area isn’t the big slowdown right now. It’s the 79 mph limit for almost every rural area due to grade crossings, track separations, etc. Things like the Point Defiance Bypass and the 39th street crossing are more important and cost effective than moving a transit center across a river to save three minutes.
Even removing angles and stuff won’t speed the train up that much here. Better investments are those that allow 125 mph speeds in areas currently limited to 79 than gaining 10 or 15 mph in urban Portland.
I guess my ride on the TGV in ’82 ruined me for accepting the fed’s definition of 110 mph. But I will be more than happy to see more and higher speed rail than what we got now. And the sooner the better.