A study of commuter rail service between Wilsonville and Salem is not a new idea.
But unlike a proposal more than a decade ago — and another that was left behind in last year’s session — the latest legislation for a study drew an overwhelming response from lawmakers, city and transit officials, and other advocates who testified Tuesday, Feb. 13, to the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Committee on Transportation.
The earlier proposal was sponsored by then-Rep. Mitch Greenlick, a Democrat from Portland who died in 2020 after 17 years in the House and who made a study a pet project. It led to a broad analysis completed in 2010 by the Oregon Department of Transportation.
A proposal for a more detailed study in House Bill 2662 cleared the joint committee in the 2023 session. But it died in the Legislature’s budget committee.
Now, as lawmakers gear up for 2025 — when they will consider Oregon’s next major round of transportation projects and funding for a decade — the idea has renewed political momentum in the current short session due to close by March 10.
Sen. Aaron Woods, a Democrat from Wilsonville, is the chief sponsor of Senate Bill 1572, which calls for the more detailed study by ODOT. Woods was elected in 2022 from a newly redrawn district that has seen population growth and more jobs.
“However, we have seen the congestion it has caused on Interstate 5, impacting our air quality and extending our daily commutes and taking precious hours from our lives,” Woods, who also sits on the joint committee, said to open the hearing. “Extending the WES commuter train is our chance to change that narrative. It is about making our community a place where public transport isn’t just an option, but a preference.”
His reference was to the Westside Express Service (WES), which TriMet operates on Portland & Western tracks between Wilsonville and Beaverton, but only during peak morning and evening hours Monday through Friday. The service began in 2009 after a decade of planning and construction.
Two other chief sponsors are Republican Reps. Kevin Mannix of Salem and Democratic Rep. Courtney Neron of Wilsonville, who also sponsored the failed effort in 2023. Mannix also sits on the joint committee.
“I wish I could say it was my idea, but I can’t,” Mannix said. “They have put together a coalition of all these communities along the line that are looking toward a vision of a commuter line with a number of stations where people will be able to get on board and off from Wilsonville down to Salem. I would hope that later, we could consider the further extension of this line from Salem to Eugene.”
Neron added: “I hope you will do this again so we can finish this unfinished business in this short session…. This bill is an opportunity to mitigate increased congestion and carbon emissions.”
Broader study planned
What may be the difference this time, as opposed to last year, is that Sen. Chris Gorsek, a Democrat from Gresham and co-chair of the joint committee, wants to include this study as part of a broader look at underused rail corridors in the Portland metropolitan area. He said Metro, the regional planning agency, has agreed to undertake it — if it can get $500,000. The Wilsonville-Salem commuter rail study also is proposed at $500,000.
“We need to think big about transportation in Oregon, especially rail transportation,” Gorsek said at the close of the Feb. 13 hearing.
The House co-chair is Rep. Susan McLain, a Democrat from Forest Grove, who said of new projects generally: “We have to consider what is adequate funding to do big things.”
The committee heard from three mayors: Cathy Clark of Keizer, Frank Lonergan of Woodburn, and Brian Asher of Aurora, although the nearest stop to Aurora on the proposed extension is Donald. Wilsonville Mayor Julie Fitzgerald filed a statement, as did Salem Mayor Chris Hoy.
Dwight Brashear is transit director for South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART) in Wilsonville, the southern terminus of the current WES commuter rail. From there, SMART and Cherriots, the bus service run by the Salem Area Mass Transit District, operate express bus service between the cities.
“With this project, I think they can call their cities America’s finest cities,” Brashear said of the mayors’ testimony. “This is a great project and I stand in full support of it. Is it going to be hard? Sure, but anything worth anything is hard.”
Maria Hinojos Pressey, president of the Salem transit district board, also endorsed the study.
Other support
Most of the rail corridors proposed for the broader study, as well as the Wilsonville-Beaverton line, are owned by the Portland & Western Railroad — acquired in 1995 by Genesee & Wyoming, a railroad holding company. Ross Lane, an assistant vice president, testified in favor of the study. He said rail has less impact on climate change than trucking.
“It reduces greenhouse gases associated with freight transportation,” he said via video link. “But put simply, a new passenger rail service must not compromise our ability to safely and efficiently deliver freight for our customers.”
Transportation and environmental advocates also support a detailed study of commuter rail.
“It takes trips off Interstate 5 and Highway 217,” said Bob Krebs, president of the Association of Oregon Rail and Transit Advocates, and formerly with ODOT’s rail program. “Potentially it could serve more than 10% of the trips on both roads. It addresses equity issues by providing low-cost mobility for low-income people. It upgrades the existing infrastructure and takes advantage of latent capacity without impacting the taking of property off the tax rolls.”
Sam Diaz is executive director of 1000 Friends of Oregon, the citizen watchdog group founded by Tom McCall — the governor who signed Oregon’s land use planning law back in 1973 — and Portland lawyer Henry Richmond. “This kind of rail extension can honor the legacy of hard work that our farmers and farmworkers bring every day,” Diaz said, by protecting Willamette Valley farmland against further intrusion by potential highway expansion.
TriMet is neutral
Although only a few statements were filed in opposition, and no one testified against it, TriMet is neutral on the bill.
Miles Pengilly, its manager for state government affairs, said TriMet cannot operate service outside the Portland metro area. He said the existing Wilsonville-Beaverton commuter rail relies on TriMet leasing the tracks from Portland & Western, limiting its hours of operation – and that it is a high-cost, low-ridership line compared with buses and the MAX light-rail system.
He also said TriMet’s priorities are improved bus service, particularly for low-income people and neighborhoods, and a proposed rapid-bus corridor for 82nd Avenue in Portland. A similar corridor opened in 2022 on Division Street, where buses run frequently to connect downtown Portland with Southeast Portland and Gresham. TriMet sponsored a bus tour on part of 82nd Avenue when U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made a brief stop in Portland last summer.
TriMet also has proposed a new Southwest Corridor light-rail line from Portland through Tigard and Bridgeport Village in Tualatin, though voters rejected a 2020 measure for the local share required to match federal money for the line.
pwong@pamplinmedia.com
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