The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has prepared a joint Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Record of Decisions (ROD) to evaluate options for improved Amtrak Cascades intercity passenger rail service. The Project examined the approximately 130-mile segment (Oregon Segment) of the federally designated Pacific Northwest Rail Corridor (PNWRC). The Oregon Segment of the PNWRC corridor runs from the Eugene-Springfield urban area to the Washington state line at the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon. Alternative 1, which is the Environmentally Preferred Alternative, would provide improved passenger rail service to meet future intercity travel demand, improve rail facilities, reduce journey times and improve connections with regional public transit services. This environmental review will help ODOT and FRA make decisions such as selecting the general rail alignment and communities where stations would be located and determining service characteristics, such as the number of daily trips, travel time objectives, and the technologies to be used. In September 2011, a $4.2‑million High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) Program competitive grant from FRA helped fund this planning and service-level environmental analysis project.