Oregon team recommends passenger-rail improvements along Cascades route

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) will host an online "open house" next month on the selected preferred alternative in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for a plan to improve passenger-rail service along a 125-mile segment between Eugene and Portland.

This fall, a project team completed an initial analysis of two alternatives: one that would follow the existing Amtrak Cascades passenger-rail route with improvements; and a second that would establish a new route between Springfield and Oregon City. The latter route would be located along Interstate-5, an existing freight-rail line and I-205, and would follow the existing alignment north of Oregon City.

The team is recommending the first alternative because it is the most cost effective, ODOT officials said in an announcement on the project's website. The project’s Leadership Council will consider the recommendation in December.

After the DEIS is published in late 2016, the public will be asked to provide input during a formal comment period, ODOT officials said.

ODOT's online open house will be held Nov. 2-22.