Elizabeth Marceau, principal planner at Metro, presented findings from a short, legislature‑requested study on regional passenger rail, emphasizing that repurposing heavy‑rail corridors for passenger service would require substantial capital investment for tracks, structures and crossings and often face constraints where freight operations dominate.

Marceau told the committee the study found six major themes: the need for significant infrastructure upgrades; freight–passenger incompatibilities on many corridors; the importance of land‑use and station planning; potential opportunities on select corridors if demand and funding materialize; the value of building ridership first with bus services; and the need for long‑term political and funding commitments. "Regional rail is well suited to longer trips that are hard for single transit districts to serve," she said, while urging investment in "lower cost, ripe transit modes first to build that ridership."

Why it matters: the study offers a strategic framework as the region considers long‑range investments, but Metro and peer agencies cautioned that operational constraints (for example, the Steel Bridge bottleneck) and private freight ownership of right‑of‑way make many options costly and complex.

Committee members asked about specific bottlenecks and feasibility. Councilor Rosenthal and others asked whether replacement options for the Steel Bridge or locations for dual trackage had been identified; Marceau said the bridge has been on the radar for decades and that many proposals would be funding‑constrained. The presentation listed potential corridors for future analysis — including the Southwest Corridor, the Willamette Shore, and a corridor adjacent to the Council Creek trail — and recommended careful, staged planning.

Next steps: Metro will circulate the report to the Legislature and integrate findings into updates of regional planning documents; the study is informational and not a Metro Council action item. The committee thanked Metro and moved to the next agenda item.