New impact study for Oregon passenger proposal
Oregon after years of study has released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for proposed passenger service upgrades between Eugene and Portland.
Oregon Department of Transportation
HSR in the PNW?
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is envisioning a 250-mph “ultra-high speed ground transportation system” connecting Vancouver, B.C.; Seattle, Wash. and Portland, Ore., with Seattle-Vancouver and Seattle-Portland travel times reduced to one hour each. Engineering and professional services consultancy WSP will be preparing a business case analysis for what WSDOT describes as “an international, public-private partnership of WSDOT; the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT); the British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Trade and Technology; and Microsoft Corp.”
Oregon DOT receives transload pre-proposals
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) received six pre-proposals from firms willing to build two transload facilities in Treasure Valley and in the mid-Willamette Valley.
Oregon ramps up rail safety oversight
The Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) on August 28, 2015 approved an updated set of rules for transporting hazardous materials by rail. Combined with Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) addition of four Federal Railroad Administration-certified rail inspectors, the rules “aim to improve the state’s ability to prevent incidents and respond to them if they occur,” OTC said.
Siskiyou rail line set to reopen
Construction is under way on the first of three phases to upgrade the CORP (Central Oregon & Pacific) Siskiyou rail line; work will begin this spring and summer to reopen the 95-mile line between Ashland, Ore. and Weed, Calif. The 389-mile CORP is a Genesee & Wyoming subsidiary.
Amtrak’s Oregon service under threat
Amtrak’s Cascades service between Portland and Eugene will end if Oregon’s state legislature enacts the budget adopted by its Joint Ways and Means Committee the week of March 30, 2015 that proposes slashing funding for the daily state-backed service on the corridor.
A tale of two (or more) Talgos
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has taken delivery on the second of two new Talgo Series 8 13-car trainsets the State of Oregon purchased with federal stimulus funds administered in 2009. The first trainset entered service on July 26.