A Wilsonville-bound Westside Express Service train passes through Tigard, Ore., in June 2018. An Oregon legislator wants the service extended to the state capital, Salem.
TRAINS: David Lassen
PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon legislator is making a fourth attempt to generate interest in a plan to extend Portland’s lone commuter-rail line to Salem, Ore.
The Oregonian reports that Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland) wants to extend the Westside Express Service, a line between Wilsonville and Beaverton, Ore., south by 29 miles to Salem, the state capital. The 83-year-old, who will retire at the end of his current term, has introduced a bill to create a 17-person task force to study the idea. He has introduced identical legislation without success in 2007, 2013, and 2015.
Tri-Met reports that WES, a 15-mile line using diesel rail cars, averaged 1,250 boardings in December 2018, down 19 percent from the same period a year earlier. Overall Tri-Met ridership was down 1.4 percent during the same period, including 1.1 percent on the light-rail system and 6.7 percent on Portland’s streetcar.
If it can’t cut it to Salem, it can’t cut it to Eugene. Otherwise, why stop there, take it all the way to Medford.
Extend it to Corvallis and Eugene and you can sign me right up.
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Find your own damn lawyer.