As Oregon was aligned with the union states during the American Civil War, a railroad connection was proposed to help supply the Union and build morale.[1]
As of 2004, the state of Oregon has over 2,400 mi (3,862 km) (route-miles) of track, and 170 mi (274 km) of railroad right-of-way after peaking in the 1930s at about 4,350 miles (7,001 km) of track.[2] Oregon is served by two Class 1 railroads, which account for over 1,100 miles (1,770 km) of trackage, and over twenty Class 2 and Class 3 operators. Three Amtrak routes serve the state, primarily through the Willamette Valley and south-central Oregon.[3] Rail is a key element of the mass transit system in the city of Portland and surrounding communities. And numerous tourist railways operate in the state.
Long-haul passenger service is provided by Amtrak, which operates in Oregon on the north-south Union Pacific mainline south of Portland, and on BNSF tracks into Washington to the north and east.
Three Amtrak routes provide service to Oregon:
The Empire Builder, running from Portland to Chicago, Illinois, provides service to Portland. Immediately after departing Portland, the train crosses into Washington, and does not serve any other Oregon community.[6]
Transit and commuter rail
Left to Right: MAX light rail, WES commuter rail car, Portland Streetcar.
The MAX Light Rail system, a 52.4-mile (84.3 km) light rail system operated by TriMet (the transit authority for the Portland area), presently serves the cities of Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Gresham on four separate lines. The first line opened in 1986, running for 15 miles (24 km) east from downtown Portland to Gresham. A second line opened in 1998, extending the system west from downtown to Beaverton and Hillsboro, and this was operated as an extension of the eastside line, the combined route being designated the Blue Line in 2000-2001.[7] The Red Line opened in 2001, providing service to Portland International Airport; the Yellow Line opened in 2004, with service to north Portland; and the Green Line opened in 2009, with service to Clackamas. In the future, service is proposed to be extended to Milwaukie,[8] a project tentatively referred to as the Orange Line, and perhaps eventually to Oregon City and Vancouver, Washington.
The Portland Streetcar is an electrically powered streetcar (or tram) system which presently serves the inner westside, downtown Portland and the South Waterfront District. It runs between the Northwest district and the South Waterfront, also providing service to the Pearl District, Portland State University, and Oregon Health and Science University. Unlike MAX, which primarily runs in its own right-of-way, the streetcar shares most of its right-of-way with vehicular traffic. The streetcar interchanges with both the MAX system and the Portland Aerial Tram, an aerial cableway.[9] Opened in 2001 and extended three times since then, the streetcar line is currently 4 miles (6.4 km) end-to-end, but construction of a second line began in August 2009 and will extend the system by 3.3 miles (5.3 km), crossing the Willamette River to serve the inner eastside district.
WES Commuter Rail is a 14.7-mile (23.7 km) diesel-powered commuter rail service which began operating in early 2009 and runs between the cities of Beaverton and Wilsonville on existing freight trackage. It has three intermediate stops, two of which serve the cities of Tigard and Tualatin, and connects with MAX at the Beaverton Transit Center. The vehicles are operated by Portland and Western Railroad under contract with TriMet, but the transit agency owns the DMU-type rail cars and maintenance facility (and employs the vehicle maintenance personnel), and all funding for operations comes from TriMet.
In the U.S. state of Oregon, Interstate 84 travels east–west, following the Columbia River and the rough path of the old Oregon Trail from Portland east to Idaho. For this reason, it is also known as most of the Columbia River Highway No. 2 and all of the Old Oregon Trail Highway No. 6 (see Oregon highways and routes). It also follows along or near U.S. Route 30. The entire highway carried the designation Interstate 80N (I-80N, or Interstate 80 North) until 1980, when this was changed to I-84.[13]
The bridge was built by the Wauna Toll Bridge Company of Walla Walla, Washington and opened in 1926 at a length of 1,127 feet (343 m). The higher river levels resulting from the construction of the Bonneville Dam required the bridge to be further elevated and extended to its current length of 1,856 feet (565 m).
The Robertson Tunnel is a tunnel through the west hills of Portland, Oregon, U.S. for the TriMet public transit MAX Light Rail system. The tunnel is 3.1 miles (5.0 km) long and consists of twin 21 foot (6.4 m) diameter tunnels. There is one station within the tunnel at Washington Park, the third deepest such station in the world. The tunnel has won several worldwide engineering and environmental awards.[14] It was placed into service September 12, 1998.[15]
Personal transportation
Private automobiles
Private automobiles still fulfill the majority of transportation needs.
At 2.5% in 2012, Oregon had the highest bicycle commuting mode share of any state (behind only Washington, D.C.) with the cities of Portland, Eugene, Corvallis, and Baker City each reporting bicycle commuting rates in excess of 5%.[16][17]
The 40-Mile Loop is a partially completed greenway trail around and through Portland in the U.S. State of Oregon. It was proposed in 1903[18] by the Olmsted Brothers architecture firm as part of the development of Forest Park.[19][20]
One greenway expert calls it "one of the most creative and resourceful greenway projects in the country."[21]
The Port of Bandon is the port authority for Bandon Harbor in the city of Bandon, Oregon, United States. The port has full marina facilities for boat launching and sport fishing. It also serves as a waypoint stopover for commercial fishing and recreation vessels, and has a scenic boardwalk with a nature pathway and observation areas.[22]
The United States Coast Guard operates Search and Rescue Detachment Coquille River in Bandon Harbor in the summer and on halibut season weekend openers in the spring, and is equipped with a 47-foot motor life boat and crew.[23][24]
^"Systems News [regular news section]". Tramways & Urban Transit. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. December 2000. p. 471. ISSN1460-8324. With the light rail system due to expand to two services in September 2001, and three in 2004 (with all three using the same routing and stops in the city centre), Tri-Met has decided to assign route colours as follows ...
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