By KLCC News
COOS BAY — A freight rail line connecting Eugene with Coos Bay has received a $29.7 million federal grant to to help upgrade the line in order to better serve the Port of Coos Bay.
Transporting cargo to and from the terminal is what this is all about, and that’s what we’re focused on with the Coos Bay Rail Line,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. “And it’s going to be greater capacity for exporters.”
It comes on the heels of a separate grant announced earlier this month for the port itself, which supporters hope to expand to become a major shipping terminal in the coming years.
Friday’s grant for the rail line was announced in a press release from Wyden, along with Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. and Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore., whose district includes the port.
“Today’s award makes long overdue investments in the Coos Bay Rail Line and will improve sections of the line that have fallen into disrepair,” Hoyle said in the press release. “Upgrades and repairs to rail line will help to move products across Oregon and the country faster.”
This is at least the third federal grant the rail line has received in the past decade. In 2016, the line received $11 million to upgrade tunnels along the route. And in 2020, the line was the recipient of a $9.9 million grant to help improve train speeds along the meandering route that cuts through the Coast Range from Eugene to the Florence area before turning south to Coos Bay.