
The Cascades passenger trains that stop in Albany four times a day have been rescued for now with a funding package that cleared the legislature on Thursday. But only an increase in the number of paying passengers can save them for good.
Whether letters to legislators get results probably depends on whether legislators are inclined to do in the first place what the letters request. So Albany’s plea to fully fund Amtrak’s Cascade passenger trains may do no good, but it can’t hurt.
Things are happening on the passenger rail front in the Willamette Valley, one right away and the other in the indefinite future. Oregon’s two new Talgo train sets start revenue service on Monday (Jan. 6), when the number of southbound trains stopping in Albany on weekdays increases from three a day to four.
You won’t be surprised to learn that under federal guidance, Oregon continues to plod along slowly in trying to find the best way to enhance passenger rail transportation up and down the Willamette Valley. The effort began 2011 with federal grants and the hiring of consultants to conduct an environmental assessment of various routes that […]
Once again, trains face budget hurdle
Back to trains for a moment, if you don’t mind. More specifically passenger rail. Once again, in advance of next year’s legislative session, there’s a question whether the Amtrak Cascades train service between Eugene and Portland will continue beyond June 2017.
Tags: Amtrak Cascades, Oregon passenger rail, passenger rail