[zilfondel]

Eugene's never going to have "high speed" rail. There would be no point! Stops are too close together (50 km apart?) and the towns are just way too small.

On the other hand, a frequent service DMU intercity rail service would make more sense. The trains don't need to be high capacity, but they should serve Corvallis (big college town with a rail line running through the middle of downtown) and have a high frequency. Service would be great during Ducks/Beavers game days, when it take 6 hours (or more) to drive from Portland to Eugene.