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Even though Amtrak trains don’t carry lumber to job sites, development might not happen without them. And, in this economy, developers need all the help they can get.

It’s hard to overstate the business impact of having Amtrak service in Oregon City, said Amber Hoveck, executive director of the Oregon City Chamber. She pointed to two large destination developments, The Cove and The Rivers at Oregon City, planned to be built near the train station.

“For big development pieces like that, certainly the Amtrak station is a tremendous bonus, because it’s connecting a major destination with rail service,” Hoveck said.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is in the process of buying two new train sets to ensure that service between Portland and the Willamette Valley continues. The state doesn’t own any of its own trains, and Washington state has other plans for its trains, two of which presently run on the Amtrak Cascades route between Seattle and Eugene.

Washington has announced plans to add two round trips between Seattle and Portland. That could pull trains off the Portland-to-Eugene leg, which also stops in Oregon City, Salem and Albany.

Another Amtrak service, the Coast Starlight, passes through Oregon City but doesn’t stop.

Outside of Portland, Oregon City’s train station offers the only metro-area Amtrak service in the state. That’s a useful tool to offer businesses, Hoveck said.

“I recently met with someone who was thinking of locating near, but not in, Portland and was thrilled to learn we have an Amtrak station here that would let him transport his children back here for visits.”

Train service is an important tool not just for attracting businesses and development to Oregon City, Hoveck said, but for retaining existing businesses. “For midsize firms looking at being here in Oregon City, that’s one more amenity, one more service they can offer to employees that will keep them in Oregon City.”

Dan Drentlaw, the city’s economic development manager, said The Cove’s developer, Pacific Property Search, committed to build a 220-apartment phase of the development, with site grading set to start this summer. Other phases, scheduled to start within the next four years, would add 200 condominiums and 40,000 square feet of office space.

Getting the first development in a site is often the hardest, Drentlaw said. “What happens is when a big developer makes a commitment, others follow.

“We’re hoping that will happen here.”

In terms of the local economy, trains have brought more than employees to Oregon City, Drentlaw said. “The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is located right across the street” from the station, he said.

“(Trains) give visitors and tourists an easy way of getting to town.”

ODOT negotiated to buy two trains, for $36.6 million, from Talgo-America. The trains will be built in a new Talgo plant in Wisconsin.

The money for the trains comes from Oregon’s savings on projects in the federal stimulus package. The trains will be delivered in 2012.

While the new trains would ensure continued Willamette Valley service, ODOT spokesman Patrick Cooney said schedules and route frequency haven’t been determined yet.

Oregon City isn’t the only community depending on trains. For businesses with offices in Eugene and Portland, employees rely on Amtrak to travel between locations.

Guru Hari Khalsa, the research and development director for Yogi Tea, takes the train between the Golden Temple food company headquarters in Eugene and its Yogi office in Portland.

“It’s safe and relaxing,” Khalsa said, “and (it) allows me to work wirelessly or rest.”

Once he arrives, Khalsa said, it’s easy to grab other forms of transportation. “In Portland the train conveniently connects with MAX light rail, and there are Zipcars nearby.”