"In the United States, we have a railroad system that the Bulgarians would be ashamed of. We desperately are going to need railroad transport for moving people around, for moving goods around – we don’t have that. What we do have is a trucking system that is going to become increasingly dysfunctional, especially as the expense mounts of maintaining the tremendous interstate highway system. It costs so much money every year to maintain what the engineers call a high level of service – which means that the trucks that are delivering things from the central valley of California to Toronto don’t break their axles while they’re bringing those Caesar salads to Toronto. Once you have a certain number of trucks that are breaking their axles in that 3,000 mile journey, that’s the end of transcontinental trucking – which also implies that this is the end of certain economic relationships that we have gotten used to." -- author James Howard Kunstler, from an interview in the film "The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the End of the American Dream"

www.newtrains.org - NewTrains.org is a national organization that promotes new train systems across America

With heavy trucks forced to detour next week around two Interstate 5 bridges in the Eugene-Springfield area when weight limits going into effect because of structural problems, U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio weighed in Friday, urging the state to go even further in limiting oversize truck traffic.
The federal limit on loads in most states is 80,000 pounds, but Oregon was grandfathered in with 13 other states at 100,000 pounds, DeFazio said. DeFazio hand-delivered a letter to Bruce Warner, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, suggesting that ODOT "scrutinize each permit request" to be sure that the cargos that could be broken up and carried on more than one truck do not receive permission to be carried intact. ....
He also recommended that many overweight, oversize loads be diverted to railroads instead of being transported on highways.
“For each rail car used, we can remove three normal-weight trucks from our highways - the railways tell me they can carry 296,000 pounds on their cars,” DeFazio said. “This would reduce congestion, improve safety and increase efficiency.”
“DeFazio urges less road weight,” by Randi Bjornstad, The Register-Guard, March 1, 2003

amtrac (also amtrack, amtrak): noun
an amphibious tracked vehicle used for landing assault troops on a shore.
ORIGIN World War II: blend of amphibious and tractor.

The most efficient place for Oregon to invest in passenger rail travel is the Amtrak route from Eugene to Portland. The “Talgo” trains on the “Amtrak Cascades” line are capable of going 124 mph (210 kph). However, it is faster to drive from Eugene to Portland on I-5 since the train cannot travel at its potential speed due to the poor quality of the tracks (the trains would become airborne, briefly, if they went full speed).

Upgrading these tracks for faster trains would require rebuilding some of the railbed and grade separating the road crossings (since 120 mph trains striking a stuck car on a crossing would be very dangerous for the train.

The cost of upgrading Amtrak for high speed travel in the Willamette Valley would be about the cost of the WEP plus the I-5 / Beltline interchange reconstruction. It would probably be less than the projected cost to widen I-5 to six lanes from Salem to Eugene.

The federal Department of Transportation considers the Cascades line from Eugene to Vancouver BC one of the top priorities for high speed rail in the United States, but there is barely enough money to keep the existing (slow) service running.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amtrak_Cascades has background information on the Seattle / Eugene train service.

old Amtrak (Coast Starlight - 80 mph) and new Amtrak (Cascades line - 124 mph) -- Acela high speed rail, Boston station (150 mph)

the TGV in France and the Japanese bullet trains have top speeds around 180 mph
Germany, Spain, Belgium, Korea and other countries have similar very high speed train systems

the United States spent its money on the interstate highway network, NAFTA superhighways, Outer Beltways around sprawling suburbs
and the world's largest military industrial complex

Putting a new high speed line in the median strip of I-5 would cost much more and make less sense than upgrading the existing freight tracks. Every bridge on the Interstate would need to be torn down and rebuilt (to accommodate the train right of way). Part of the highway route would also need reconstruction, since some of the roadway would not allow for the trains (especially I-5 between Salem and Portland). Upgrading the existing train tracks to facilitate high speed train travel would also whisk passengers from downtown to downtown, instead of dumping them by freeway interchanges that are completely car dependent, with little public transit.

Some WEP opponents have periodically suggested that the train line running from Eugene to Veneta (and ultimately to Coos Bay) should be upgraded to include passenger service, which would supposedly reduce or eliminate a "need" for the WEP. This is extremely unlikely to be built, a distraction from the greater need to improve existing Willamette Valley train service, and the WEP is more likely to be stopped by its legal and fiscal problems (not vague calls for trains to Veneta when the WEP is supposedly designed to deal with Eugene area traffic and overdevelopment).

For more on the WETLANDS alternative to the WEP, please read the summary at http://www.permatopia.com/wetlands/alternative.html

Parkway is an obsolete solution
Letter to the Editor by Ethen Perkins, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 16, 2005
Gary Wildish opines (guest viewpoint, Oct. 28) that the West Eugene Parkway has "survived every test of popularity thrown at it." He refers to a 50.9 percent to 49 percent vote in 2001. That was not an unbiased popularity test but the result of outspending. Wildish's buddies got the best advisory vote in favor of the parkway they could buy. [note: this letter did not mention the fact the WEP approval would be a federal decision, the highway is not a City of Eugene project subject to local elections]
The parkway would fragment imperiled ecosystems and endangered butterfly habitat. No doubling of wetland mitigation elsewhere can remedy that. Its planners can make no adequate provision for the damage the parkway will do to endangered butterflies because habitat fragmentation by a high-speed elevated roadway is sure to be a death trap for them.
Improved existing infrastructure could be reducing one-driver car trips between Eugene, Veneta and the coast, if the existing rail line were developed for commuter and tourist trips. Park-and-ride bus rapid transit could also be reducing our car dependency. Rushing four lanes into a narrow highway across Fern Ridge is a dysfunctional, obsolete idea that only increases our auto dependence.
We need elected officials and transportation staff thinking beyond high-speed roadways to a time when one-rider car trips are unappealing alternatives. I would take a fast train or bus to Veneta or the Oregon Coast rather than driving there in a heartbeat.
Why is that choice not available? Could our narrow focus on the parkway have had anything to do with it? It's time to drop the parkway for better non-car alternatives.
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/11/16/ed.letters.1116.p1.php?section= opinion

Time changes parkway issue
Letter to the Editor by Bob Cassidy, Eugene
The Register-Guard
November 18, 2005
... To take the time to seriously look at other options for handling the traffic on Highway 126 is a wise decision. Why go ahead with spending all that money when there is so much opposition to it?
I personally like the option of putting a trolley on the tracks from Veneta to shuttle back and forth the 72 percent of Veneta residents who work in Eugene.
http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/11/18/ed.letters.1118.p1.php?section= opinion

The issue of "going to the coast" is a red herring

The issue of traffic "to the coast" is a red herring -- the WEP would have nothing to do with going to the coast.

It is bait to lure the public (the WEP would end 52 miles from Florence).

The WEP, officially, doesn't even go to Veneta -- it supposedly ends just a mile outside the City of Eugene limits, about five miles east of the City of Veneta. It would do nothing to fix a poorly designed Highway 126 through the Coast Range, although some WEP supporters shamelessly urge the public to consider how the porkway would allegedly speed access to coastal communities. In the unlikely event that there really is $169 million planned in the ODOT budget for the WEP, some of that WEP money should be allocated toward overdue safety improvements on 126 between Eugene and Veneta (a full sized shoulder, possibly a passing lane) and in the Coast Range between Noti and Mapleton.

A train to the coast would be extremely slow on winding tracks

A passenger train to the coast would take several times longer than a bus. The existing train tracks west of Veneta are extremely winding, in part due to the path of the tracks along the Siuslaw River (much of which does not parallel Highway 126). If you look at the map of the tracks, or better yet, travel the route of the tracks yourself, you will see that high speed passenger service on this route is not feasible. (Most of the route would be fairly slow due to the track conditions.) It is unknown how many millions (or billion?) would be needed to blow up the mountains to make a straight route for faster train service to the coast.

The existing tracks to the coast do not reach Florence (they veer away from that town a few miles east, and then head south toward Coos Bay). A shuttle service would be needed to take passengers to Florence. The cost of this shuttle, or of extending the tracks to Florence, would probably be more than merely having a decent intercity bus service between Eugene and Florence.

Perhaps the most plausible high density event along the tracks that could spur period use for passenger service is the Oregon Country Fair, which has the most public transit usage of any destination along Highway 126. However, the tracks never get very close to the OCF fair entrance (not merely the parking lot entrance), and a logical station of downtown Veneta would still require fleets of shuttle buses to transport fairgoers from the train to the fair.

Train service for the Fair would require renting (or buying?) at least a pair of passenger trains, construction of a side track to enable trains to pass each other (the existing rail is single track between west Eugene and Veneta), construction of a train station in downtown Veneta (and possibly in the woods adjacent to the OCF entrance on Oregon 126, about one mile from the entrance to the Fair itself, much farther than the bus stop currently used to shuttle thousands of fair goers).

The "train to the coast" sounds like a fun ride, but the practical aspects are not very feasible.

There's no money anyway

It is nice to imagine that money for the WEP could be used to fund improved train service. However, this shift would require major changes to State law to reallocate ODOT "modernization" funds for non road purposes, although the Federal Highway Administration has allowed many states to cash in freeway funds to fund public transit projects and/or smaller roads. Given the fact that there is (maybe) $17 million available for the WEP, and that finishing Beltline, fixing Highway 99 and Roosevelt, and other minor ODOT projects in west Eugene would total more than this cost, it is obvious that there would not be any "available funds" to shift toward trains.

Veneta to Eugene would not be a serious commuter route for a new train line

"The Urban Rail Feasibility Study Eugene/Springfield Area (July 1995) concluded that projected 2015 ridership for an urban rail system was too low to be competitive with other cities seeking federal rail transit funding; and that BRT could significantly improve transit service for substantially less capital investment and lower operational costs than urban rail."
-- Central Lane MPO Regional Transportation Plan, October 2004 PRELIMINARY DRAFT Chapter 2, Page 29

A Veneta to Eugene train proposal would fail on traffic counts, unless Veneta becomes MUCH larger than it is now. Even though nearly everyone moving to Veneta works in Eugene (there are very few jobs in Veneta), a train line to the big town is not likely to be approved and funded by any transportation agencies.

Veneta is a relatively small community, even with the explosive sprawl growth that has happened since the building moratorium was lifted (a new sewage treatment center was built to facilitate expanded suburbanization). In 1995, a feasibility study showed that Springfield to Eugene had poor prospects for enough ridership to justify a new light rail system (like the Max in Portland), a reason why the area is getting a Bus Rapid Transit system instead of light rail.

Trains are certainly more fun to ride than buses, but buses are going to be much more practical for Veneta commuters.

Train service from downtown Veneta to downtown Eugene would not be able to easily take commuters to the Hyundai computer chip factory, the new Peace Health center along the McKenzie River, the proposed Delta Highway site of Triad Hospital, and many other employment centers not in the central core of Eugene. Express bus service from Veneta would be flexible (and cheap) to shift commuters toward shifting employment areas, especially as certain real estate speculators seem intent on relocating much of downtown Eugene toward the northermost sectors of the metropolitan area.

Keep freight rail to the Coos Bay port

Lane County planners are considering the decommission of this rail line and its conversion to a bicycle route - a "rail to trail." While a better bicycle route is needed from Eugene to Veneta, since the causeway across the lake is extremely dangerous (a reason to upgrade the shoulders on 126 instead of building WEP), the freight trains are Eugene's connection to the only substantial port on the Oregon coast.

Planning for peak oil's impacts on trade requires preserving rail lines to provide energy efficient transportation of goods in the future -- and the train line to Coos Bay may turn out to be a critical lifeline for the Willamette Valley’s access to trade with distant bioregions.

Other potential routes for coastal train service:
Portland-Astoria, Corvallis-Toledo (near Newport), Forest Grove-Tillamook

The road with the greatest traffic counts between the Willamette Valley and coastal communities is Highway 18, which goes to Lincoln City. There is no train route (decommissioned or active) along that route.

The second busiest road to the coast is the riverfront route between Portland and Astoria, which does have a parallel train route.

The map of Oregon railroads in the "Atlas of Oregon" (p. 109) suggests that the most logical "train to the coast" route would be Portland to Astoria, assuming the tourist economy survives a bit longer past the peak of oil extraction. An Astoria bound train might be able to generate sufficient ridership in the summer time to justify the needed investment (at a time when Amtrak barely stays in operation on the "Coast Starlight" route between Seattle and Los Angeles, and the Cascades line from Seattle to Eugene travels about half the speed the locomotives are capable of reaching).
An Astoria bound train could bring "Lewis and Clark" oriented tourists. It leaves from the biggest city. It actually reaches the middle of the town it is going to. There is a short passenger trolley in Astoria to entertain the tourists, but I don't think it actually goes anywhere beyond the town.
The Astoria line used to terminate at Seaside but it was abandoned decades ago - I don't know if it would be possible to rebuild it.

While Newport is a major tourist destination, the tracks to Newport end in Toledo, a few miles before Newport. A shuttle service would be required to cover the final miles. Newport is also less pedestrian friendly than Astoria, so additional public transit would be needed to make Newport a viable destination for car-free tourism.

The Forest Grove - Tillamook rail would also be a very SLOW path to the coast. This route does not go through the resort towns of Seaside, Cannon Beach or Manzanita. It does pass through Rockaway Beach, which seems more economically depressed and is less of a destination than the fancier resorts. Bus service between Tillamook and the Willamette Valley would be considerably faster than the circuitous freight rail route, even if large sums were invested to upgrade the rail line.

Intercity bus travel is needed to the coast - and along the coast

There is minimal intercity bus travel along the Oregon Coast and between coastal towns and the Willamette Valley. These needs should be addressed with increased service, both during the tourist season and in the wintertime, when coastal communities are more isolated.

Buses are not as much of a fun ride as trains, nor as romantic, but they are going to be a major component of any practical intercity transportation system, especially to connect towns separated by mountainous terrain.

Flaws in track cause seven derailments in 18 months
By Jack Moran
The Register-Guard
Published: Tuesday, December 13, 2005

A Roseburg-based railroad carrier has two years to implement a maintenance and inspection plan aimed at eliminating track defects that have caused at least seven derailments in Oregon since early 2004, putting the public and railroad employees at risk, federal officials said Monday.

Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad, which handles freight along more than 470 miles of track in Western Oregon and Northern California, must make significant repairs to bring its tracks into compliance with national safety standards under an agreement announced by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Since 1998, state and federal railroad inspectors have noted more than 4,500 defects on Central Oregon & Pacific's tracks. Seventy-eight of those resulted in recommended fines, although records of any civil penalties levied against the railroad were not available Monday, FRA spokesman Steve Kulm said.

A series of track-caused derailments, beginning with an April 6, 2004, incident in Eugene in which six cars slid off a track, prompted federal officials to seek a safety compliance agreement with the short-line railroad. No one was killed or injured in any of the derailments, according to agency records.

Derailments "are a flag to us that we need to take a closer look," Kulm said.

Last June, the railroad agency completed an investigation of Central Oregon & Pacific that found that by failing to comply with federal track-safety standards, the company was "creating a significant risk to the health and safety" of workers and the public, according to the agreement.

Dan Lovelady, Central Oregon & Pacific's general manager, signed the accord last week. He declined to comment on it when reached by telephone Monday afternoon at his Roseburg office.

Federal officials have confirmed seven track-caused derailments on the railroad's lines during the last two years, and an eighth accident remains under investigation. Existing track hazards include defective crossties, failing rail joints and rails that have spread too far apart for trains to travel safely.

The FRA said that Central Oregon & Pacific track inspectors "have not performed quality inspections, possibly due to lack of proper training, and (the company) had not provided enough oversight to ensure that inspections and record-keeping were correctly done."

The seven confirmed track-related derailments caused more than $363,000 in damage to equipment and tracks, according to railroad administration records.

Three of those derailments occurred in Lane County, with others in Douglas and Josephine counties. The most damaging of the track-related accidents happened last March near Winchester, just north of Roseburg. A broken rail caused a train to derail and destroy a 135-foot-long trestle, dumping several loads of logs onto the ground and across Old Highway 99, according to an Associated Press report.

Besides its line that runs south from Eugene to Siskiyou County, Calif., the railroad also runs trains along a track that extends west from Eugene toward Florence, then south to Coos Bay and Coquille.

"Performing sound track inspections and maintenance is not optional," FRA Administrator Joseph Boardman said in a prepared statement Monday. "We fully expect railroads large and small to comply with safety regulations that protect the public and safeguard railroad employees."

During the last two years, Central Oregon & Pacific has had 13 trains derail on its lines, according to railroad administration statistics. Rail defects were the cause of some, and improperly loaded cars and mechanical or operator error were blamed in the other crashes.

A particularly damaging one occurred in November 2004 near Riddle, when 4,300 gallons of diesel fuel spilled into Cow Creek and surrounding soils following the derailment of two locomotives and 10 cars.

Previously, the rail line was in the news in November 2003, when a fire erupted inside a railroad tunnel in the Siskiyou Mountains near the Oregon-California border. The tunnel was finally reopened in April.

The company's insurance carrier paid for $10 million of the repairs - its legal limit - but the company had to foot the bill for the remaining $2 million in repair costs, according to company financial filings with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

Central Oregon & Pacific is owned by RailAmerica Inc., a publicly traded Boca Raton, Fla., corporation. Central Oregon is one of 47 short-line railroads in 27 states and six Canadian provinces owned by RailAmerica.

Central Oregon & Pacific was formed in 1994 to buy the lines from Southern Pacific Railroad, which was selling off assets in order to pay down heavy debt.

In addition to developing a track-safety plan, Central Oregon & Pacific also must train inspectors whose job it will be to check for compliance with national safety standards. Federal officials will conduct periodic inspections during the next two years to ensure the railroad is upholding its end of the safety agreement.

If it does not, the railroad will face a more stringent compliance order that would hold the company's top officials personally responsible for failing to stick to the agreement.

TRACK DEFECTS
Since 1998, federal and state inspectors have recorded more than 4,067 track problems on Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad lines. They include:

• 171 gauge defects
• 704 defective crossties
• 167 defective rails
• 1,224 defective rail joints
• A separate 2003 federal inspection found 400 track defects

These derailments in Oregon were attributed to the company's problems:
• Eugene, April 6, 2004
• Sunny Valley, July 31, 2004
• Wolf Creek, Oct. 26, 2004
• Drain, Nov. 7, 2004
• Eugene, Dec. 1, 2004
• Eugene, Jan. 5, 2005
• Winchester, March 1, 2005

— Federal Railroad Administration