(The Oregonian published the following editorial on its website on September 7.)
PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s free ride on the Union Pacific Railroad Co.’s tracks through the Willamette Valley may come to an abrupt end on Sept. 30, bringing to a screeching halt the nascent effort to provide timely, dependable passenger rail service in this state.
Oregon officials must do everything they can to forestall the shutdown of two of the four Amtrak Cascades trains linking Eugene, Albany, Salem, Oregon City and Portland. This state is just getting somewhere with passenger rail, and to go backward now would hurt this state’s transportation system and its economy and inconvenience tens of thousands of passengers.
The trains are about to be sidetracked because Oregon has failed to deliver $15 million in railway improvements it promised in 2000 in exchange for permission to run two Amtrak Cascades trains on Union Pacific’s rail line.
Don’t blame Union Pacific. UP has been more than patient, and the company warned the state in May that if the Legislature failed to allocate the track-improvement money, it would discontinue the two trains 30 days after lawmakers adjourned.
After much debate, the Legislature appropriated $10 million Amtrak required for the continued operation of the Cascades trains, but it did not set aside any money for the capital projects required under the state’s deal with Union Pacific.
Now state officials are scrambling to find ways to deliver at least some of the money for capital projects, and pleading with Union Pacific for more time. It’s very important that the two sides reach some agreement that keeps these passenger trains running.
There’s a lot riding on this, including the future of a passenger rail service that is just gaining steam in Oregon. The Amtrak Cascades trains carry about 95,000 passengers a year and are growing in popularity with commuters.
Willamette Valley communities such as Albany and Oregon City are investing millions of dollars in remodeled and expanded train stations. State and local transportation officials have set an ambitious goal of having at least six passenger trains running north from the Willamette Valley to Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., by the time Vancouver hosts the Winter Olympic Games in 2010.
That will not happen if Oregon loses these two trains and falls back to a limited passenger train system with a spotty, inconvenient schedule. It’s worth noting that Washington state has committed more than $200 million over the next six years for passenger rail improvements.
City leaders, state officials and the congressional delegation must join the search for money for the promised railway improvements. Without a strong, growing system of passenger rail, this state will never get where it wants to go.