1. If I recall, trains 500/509 are the only Amtrak national system (read: not-state-subsidized) trains in the Cascades fleet.

2. Train 504 EUG-PDX (subsidized by ODOT) requires an across-the-platform transfer to train 506 (subsidized by WSDOT) at PDX, right? So I'm at a loss as to how much ridership this will affect when even with existing equipment there is a transfer involved (at least northbound).

3. Load factors south of Portland are, even by Amtrak standards, horrible. You could stick the entire ridership on just one bus many days, and on a good day you'd need two buses. In short: the train running to Eugene is a waste for the sake of it being a train. The trains are needed north in the SEA-PDX market. Doing so would save Oregon taxpayers $5 million a year (since ODOT does not subsidize any of the buses marketed as part of the Cascades).