The State, through the Department of Transportation's Rail Division is responsible for freight and passenger rail planning and operations, as well as for representing railroad customers on service issues.
Oregon has two new trainsets on order, using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to shore up the state's investment in passenger rail service. The Spanish-made Talgo trains, being assembled in Wisconsin, are scheduled to arrive in Seattle in June 2012. Details about how the trains will be delivered are being finalized. Once they arrive in Seattle, they will undergo testing and employee familiarization trips.
The Oregon Department of Transportation is conducting the Oregon Passenger Rail Environmental Impacts Statement Project as the next step in improving passenger rail service in the Oregon segment of the federally designated Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor between Eugene and Portland.