It takes two to Talgo in the Willamette Valley.

Oregon's two new Spanish-made series 8 Talgo trains bring a significant upgrade to the Amtrak Cascades passenger line, allowing for a better schedule between Portland and Eugene while guaranteeing passenger service in the Willamette Valley into the future.

The new 13-car trains, named Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Bachelor, entered service in January. The $45 million investment by the Oregon Department of Transportation makes the state a player in the Eugene-to-Vancouver Northwest passenger rail corridor.

The Washington Department of Transportation owns three trains and Amtrak two of the previous five that served the route. Washington has a federal mandate to increase the number of daily trains between Seattle and Portland from five to seven by 2017, so Oregon having its own trains guarantees continued Willamette Valley service. Washington is also buying new equipment to meet its obligation.

Before the new trains entered service Jan. 6, both of the daily Amtrak Cascades runs from Portland to Eugene departed in the evening, while both runs from Eugene to Portland left in the morning. The long-distance Coast Starlight train continues to serve the corridor daily at midday.

Now, in addition to the midday train, there are daily morning and late afternoon trains in each direction, a change that ODOT passenger rail coordinator Kathy C. Holmes hopes will make the service more convenient to Oregonians. Portland-to-Eugene rail passenger service began in 1994 and expanded to a second Amtrak Cascades run in 2000.

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“The new trains make it possible to travel between Portland and Eugene, and return the same day, in either direction,’’ said Holmes, adding that both cities are also attractive overnight destinations.

The trains also stop at Oregon City, Salem and Albany. All the stops but Oregon City, which has an outdoor platform, are at restored, historic passenger rail stations.

Amtrak Cascades continues operating four daily trains between Portland and Seattle (in addition to the Coast Starlight), with departures throughout the day. The new equipment is rotated throughout the corridor, so train buffs would need inside information to know when they are running on any particular day.

If the train schedule doesn’t fit a traveler’s needs, ODOT has increased the Amtrak Thruway Bus service from Portland to Eugene from five to seven trips per day in luxury motor coaches. It also added a new stop in Woodburn. Travel time either by bus or train between Portland and Eugene is about 2.5 hours.

Bus service makes it possible to shop connecting transportation on the Amtrak website (amtrak.com) across much of Oregon. Routes include Portland to Astoria and Ontario; Albany to Newport; Eugene to Coos Bay and Ontario; Klamath Falls to Brookings; Chemult to Redmond. Connections are also available throughout Washington.

The newest trains are similar to Talgo trains placed in service in the Cascades corridor in 1998, though a train buff will likely notice the improvements beyond the newness that makes them cleaner and fresher. They have leather seats instead of cloth, though food service is still microwave-heated entrees sold in the bistro car. Wine and beer are available for purchase.

Each train has 13 cars: the cab car, two business-class coaches, a dining car (where passengers sit at tables, though the food comes from the bistro), a bistro car, seven regular passenger coaches and a baggage car. Passenger capacity is 286 for each of the new trains.

A separate locomotive provides propulsion, but the state didn’t need to purchase these because an adequate number was available. Besides, Washington is buying eight in the next service upgrade.

The cab car, with its bulbous nose, houses the air conditioning/heating and other mechanical components. It does not provide propulsion and can run either at the front or the rear of the train. Some who see it complain that it lacks a sleek look, but ODOT says the design was created uniquely for this corridor and was mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration.

The speed of the train tops out at 79 mph (on the flat section between Eugene and Junction City), so it doesn’t need a sleek design to knife through resisting air like the high-speed trains of Japan and elsewhere. Higher speeds in Oregon will require a new track system, according to ODOT, a long-range possibility but very costly.

Funds to purchase the trains came from the 2009 federal American Recovery Act. The train’s body shells and wheel assemblies were built in Spain, then were shipped to Wisconsin for completion. More than 60 percent of the value (including wireless internet service) was added in America, to meet the law’s Buy America directive.

Passenger trains in the Northwest corridor operate at a loss, according to Holmes, but ODOT has been paying the subsidy with its available budget (including funds raised through vanity plates on cars). As federal funding decreases for intercity rail travel, a dedicated funding source will be required by the state to continue operation, Holmes said. Of course, fuller trains will help pay those bills.

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One-way fares from Portland to Eugene begin at $20, from Portland to Seattle at $24. Fares vary widely due to demand, day of the week and how far in advance the purchase is made.

Passenger rail has no shortage of fans.

On a recent train run between Eugene to Seattle, Christina Smith and Travis Boyd of Dexter were traveling to visit their mother in Oregon City after Smith’s car conked out that morning. Elizabeth Nichols was taking a break from Oregon State University to spend the weekend skiing at Mount Hood, her skis riding alongside her in the passenger compartment. Jeanne Hughes of Albany was making one of her frequent trips to visit family at Olympia.

“For the same cost as the gas,’’ Hughes said, “I get to sit here, relax and read a book. I love the train, though I wish they had put footrests on the seats.

“The new late afternoon departure (from Albany) is really nice because I get to travel at the end of the work day, instead of waiting to go the next day.’’

(Look here the rest of the week for more posts on the trains and stations, plus things to see and do in Eugene.)

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-- Terry Richard