At an estimated cost of $1.4 billion the 100+ mile Coos Bay rail line, owned by the port of Coos Bay, would be upgraded to carry the unknown import and export commodities to and from Eugene and beyond to unknown destinations.
Much has to be assumed as there are very few public documents that provide any information about this part of the PCIP.
As of 2025 the port has already spent over $100 million of public funds on upgrading the line. In the summer of 2025 the port received another federal grant for $29 million to plan for the proposed PCIP upgrades. The Port plans to apply to the U.S. DOT’s Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program for a loan to finance the $1.4 billion needed to upgrade the Coos Bay Rail Line.
The terminal site lessee, NorthPoint is slated to contribute an unknown amount of funds to the 40% grant match requirement.
The plans to move 2 million containers each year would require six trains to Eugene and six back from Eugene each work day.
Along the Line
To Eugene through the Coast Range
As a train winds its way north and east through the coastal mountains it passes through a number of small communities, crosses over twelve large lakes, travels across 121 bridges, and passes through nine tunnels. Landslides and downed trees commonly slow the journey. All of this infrastructure needs to be upgraded, the tunnels expanded to allow double-stacked containers to pass through, sidings built to allow trains to pass one another, and grade level crossings upgraded. In Reedsport, the line crosses Highway 38, the main road to Eugene, and Winchester Avenue. The port has received a $3.99 million grant from the US Department of Transportation Railroad Crossing Elimination program to plan for passing through the town each work day. The Oregon Department of Transportation has drawings of possible schemes for this work.
In Eugene
It is not yet clear how containers will get to their import destination, or where export containers will originate, as there is currently no available public information. The Coos Bay Rail Link may assemble the trains at the terminal site and convey them to Eugene. Union Pacific recently leased its rail yard in Eugene to the Central Oregon & Pacific Railroad, Inc. (CORP), the former owner of the Coos Bay rail line. CORP may be responsible for assembling 1.5 – 2 mile long trains that Union Pacific would haul to destinations unknown. The Eugene rail yard is flanked by the Trainsong and River Road neighborhoods, and is already not large enough to accommodate the long trains that UP hauls. The at-grade rail crossings at Bertelso, Danebo, Garfield and Greenhill roads will continue to be impacted by vehicle delays as trains move through the rail yard.
North and South from Eugene
The Union Pacific network has lines running both north and south from Eugene. It is most likely that PCIP trains will travel north to Portland before turning east to their final destination. The southern route is much longer before turning east and is less desirable as it travels through the Sierra mountains over the Donner Pass. You can read more about UP’s operations in Oregon here.
