Amtrak deal welcome.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Passenger trains offer a civilized way to travel - particularly compared to the Interstate 5 freeway, which can be either a white-knuckle race or a frustrating crawl. That's why all Oregonians, and especially those living in the Willamette Valley, should applaud the deal struck last week between Gov. Ted Kulongoski and the Union Pacific Railroad that will keep the four daily Amtrak Cascades trains running between Eugene and Portland.

In 2000 the state agreed to provide $15 million for improvements on the tracks that Union Pacific owns and allows Amtrak to use. But the 2003 Legislature, which was to provide the money for the track upgrades, adjourned without making the necessary appropriation.

The absence of funding for track improvements was frustrating, because the Legislature did provide $8 million for continued operation of two northbound and two southbound passenger train runs between Eugene and Portland. The state had money for trains but not for tracks - and without the latter, UP said it would deny Amtrak use of its tracks for the 9:30 a.m. Cascades run from Eugene to Portland and the 8 p.m. run out of Portland for Eugene. The trains were scheduled to cease service on Sept. 30.

Under the new agreement, UP will continue to allow all four of the Cascades runs to use its tracks. Amtrak's daily Coast Starlight run between Los Angeles and Seattle is unaffected.

With some 95,000 passengers using the Amtrak runs each year - up from 45,000 a year as recently as 1995 - cutting the Cascades runs in half would have been a serious blow to rail travel in Oregon. Most of the displaced train passengers would have ended up driving their cars on the freeway, polluting the air and adding to the safety hazards that accompany increased traffic volume. Those effects alone made the Cascades runs worth salvaging.

The $15 million deal worked out between the governor and UP, to be finalized by mid-October, would provide $3 million in state lottery funds and another $12 million from transportation funds received by the state from the federal government.

The track upgrades will help alleviate passenger-freight train congestion in the Eugene rail yard, improve a railroad bridge over the Willamette River in Harrisburg, add more track to ease congestion between freight and passenger rail service in the Millersburg area and add additional track in Portland's Albina rail yard. These improvements should help keep passenger trains on schedule by reducing the number of times they have to make way for UP's high-priority freight trains.

The investment in track improvements will also strengthen the rationale for continuing to provide operating funds. Keeping the trains running has been a battle in the Legislature every two years. Cutting back on operating funds will become harder to justify after the state spends $15 million on track upgrades. The tentative agreement between the governor's office and UP should preserve the daily Cascades runs, reduce pollution and offer travelers the welcome option of leisurely and picturesque train rides between Eugene and Portland. It's a good deal all around.