Passenger rail service moves to one round trip per day, Portland-Eugene

Oregon Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 03/18/2020 04:23 PM PDT

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Train and POINT Bus offer eight options in the Willamette Valley

March 18, 2020

For more information: Shelley M. Snow, Communications, 503-881-5362

SALEM - Beginning Saturday, March 21, in response to COVID-19, Amtrak Cascades passenger rail service will be reduced in Oregon and Washington. Between Portland and Eugene, there will be one daily round trip instead of two, and the departure times will be the same seven days per week (no weekend schedule). The route is:

  • Eugene – 5:30 a.m. departure northbound.
  • Portland – 6:05 p.m. departure southbound.

POINT bus service will run in place of the other round trip train (#508/#511) though with slightly different schedules, and it will continue providing connections to and from all train service at Union Station. Visit the POINT website for daily schedules (oregon-point.com).

The Cascades train, POINT Bus and Amtrak Coast Starlight together give travelers eight daily options from Eugene northbound and eight daily options from Portland southbound. For the most up-to-date schedule and options, visit https://www.amtrak.com/cascades, click on the Book Now button and enter your origin, destination and date, then hit “Find Trains.” The site will show you your options and you are not committed to purchase unless you choose to do so. Stops along the route are at Albany, Salem and Oregon City (for the POINT Bus, an additional stop is at Woodburn).

Service reduced in Washington

The service reduction is scheduled to last until April 4 but may be extended. The reduction also includes the following:

  • The evening trains between Seattle and Portland are canceled temporarily.
  • Trains north of Seattle are canceled until further notice; however, the daily bus service between Seattle, Everett, Mount Vernon, and Bellingham will continue.

Amtrak is using deep-cleaning methods to help protect against the virus. Because ridership has dipped, officials are finding that there is plenty of room on the trains to follow the social distancing guidelines. Amtrak is also offering flexibility around fees. See Amtrak.com for details or call 1-800-USA-RAIL.

 

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