MAX Light Rail

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MAX Light Rail Metropolitan Area Express
Double traction of the type 2 light rail car on the "Steel Bridge"
Basic information
Country	United States
city	Portland , Oregon
opening	5th September 1986
operator	Trimet
Infrastructure
Route length	96 km
Gauge	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system	750 volts = overhead line 825 volts = overhead line
Stops	97
Tunnel stations	1
business
Lines	5
Clock in the peak hours	10 (Blue Line)
Clock in the SVZ	15th
vehicles	145
statistics
Passengers	38.9 million annually (2018) 121,100 daily
Current route network of the Portland light rail

The Portland Light Rail , with its full name Metropolitan Area Express and regularly abbreviated MAX Light Rail , is a light rail system in Portland, Oregon on the west coast of the United States . As one of the first light rail systems after the tram renaissance , it enables rail-bound commuter traffic to downtown Portland, where all five lines go. It is built and operated by Trimet , the city's local transport company that also operates the bus routes , but not the Portland tram .

history

After the abolition of streetcars in the US in the mid-20th century, public transport with buses in many cities reached the limits of its capacity in the city centers. So the question arose in Portland of how to organize commuter traffic. The situation was exacerbated at the beginning of the 1970s, when in many cities, especially on the west coast, there was sharp criticism of the plans for a car-friendly city , in which city highways were planned to tear up grown quarters (“freeway revolt”). Six lines were up for discussion in Portland. For the mayoral election in 1972 this became a crucial campaign topic - Neil Goldschmidt, as an opponent of the motorway construction, won against the car advocate Frank Ivancie . The election result was seen as tantamount to a referendum, and the new mayor proceeded to stop the highway construction and divert the available federal funds.

This diversion into rail traffic was made possible by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973 , which also resulted from the reception of European light rail concepts. The Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA) had just coined the term Light Rail in 1972 and highlighted the advantages. Funds from the Mount Hood Freeway and parts of Interstate 505 could be used to plan a light rail system. The route of the first line was planned along the Banfield Freeway , part of Interstate 84 . The route of the “Banfield light rail project” later became part of the “Blue Line”. Construction was decided in September 1978, and commissioning took place in March 1982 on a first section of 25 kilometers with 27 stations.

A low-floor type 5 train at a stop off the Banfield Freeway ( Interstate 84 )

In September 1986, the decisive extension into the inner cities of Portland and Gresham took place . After an employee survey, the decision was made two months in advance to name the expected metro system Metropolitan Area Express , which could be abbreviated to MAX (literally: Stadtgebiets-Express ). The previous route was then called Eastside MAX (Stadtbahn Ost) to distinguish it from the discussion about a planned Westside MAX route (Stadtbahn West). The original intention was to end the route in the west between Hillsboro and Beaverton , but strong efforts by the Hillsboro City Council under Shirley Huffman ensured that the route was planned right into downtown Hillsboro. Construction of this 29-kilometer stretch began in August 1993.

The extension went into operation in September 1997, initially independently of the old route. The light rail had grown to 63 kilometers in length. Continuous operation began in September 1998, but it was not until 2001 that the name Blue Line was introduced for it. Initially, this tram route was simply called Trimet MAX , which is still visible in the logo today.

North-South route

A north-south route had already been planned in 1992. In a referendum held in November 1994, public funding was confirmed, which at that time was quoted at 475 million US dollars . After another referendum in February 1995, however, the Clark County withdrew, so that the planned route had to be shortened. In August 1995 the House of Representatives of the State of Oregon approved a financing package of $ 750 million for the traffic expansion, which included the north-south route, which was reduced to 375 million. However, in a referendum in November 1996, the opponents managed to overturn this funding.

The question of financing fell back to the City of Portland. A survey in December 1996 made it clear that the local population continued to support the project. In the spring of 1996, Metro and Tri-Met then presented a new route, which they only wanted to finance with funds from Portland and Milwaukie . Opposition in Milwaukie, however, forced the city council to cancel these plans in December 1997. Tri-Met then applied in August 1998 to have the $ 475 million confirmed without giving an exact route. However, this was not complied with by decision in November 1998. This means that further plans for the north-south route have been suspended until further notice.

At the same time, the Bechtel Corporation had proposed an offer for a public-private partnership . In return for the construction of a business district around the station at the train station at the airport, the company would finance the construction of a route from the airport to the city. Construction of the “Airport MAX project” began in 1999 and a nine-kilometer stretch was put into operation in September 2001 as the Red Line . In 2003 it was also connected to the Beaverton Transit Center , the city's bus station, where you can also change to the Blue Line .

When construction of the red line began in 1999, efforts were made to build the northern part of the north-south route and connect it to the network. The construction of the "Interstate MAX project" was approved in 2000. After securing federal funds, construction began in 2002. The Yellow Line was put into operation in May 2004. In contrast to today's yellow line, the line used the same route in the city center as the blue and red lines. Only with the construction of the corridor of the “Portland Transit Mall” has the route been running in a north-south direction through the city center since September 2009.

Transit Mall Route

In 2001, two studies were presented that provided routes along Interstate 205 and another over the Hawthorne Bridge . Both plans were confirmed in March / April 2003. The "Transit Mall" is a restricted traffic area in downtown Portland, through which rails were laid from January 2007. When it opened in September 2009, a Green Line was set up to serve the branch along with the laid yellow line.

With the approval for the construction of the north-south leading “Transit Mall” route, planning began again for an extension to the south based on the old plans for a north-south route for Portland. It took until 2008 to agree on a route that had been relocated and shortened in some places. The most important element is the construction of a new bridge, which was provisionally called the “Portland – Milwaukie Light Rail Bridge”, which was then named Tilikum Crossing when it opened . The bridge can be used by buses, light rail vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, but not by general road traffic. The plan was confirmed in April 2011 and construction began in June 2011.

The first public trips began in May 2015 and regular operations of a new Orange Line began in September 2015 . It should be noted that the orange line connects to the end point of the yellow and green lines, but there are no lines through it, as would have been the original intention of the north-south route. The orange line connects at the south end of the transit mall route.

vehicles

For the first section, Banfield light rail project or Eastside MAX, 26 vehicles were procured, which were produced by a joint venture between La Brugeoise et Nivelles and Bombardier. The design is derived from the Bombardier trains in Brussels and Rio de Janeiro. These high-floor vehicles required lifts to be installed at the stations for wheelchair access along the Eastside MAX route.

In the course of the construction of the Westside MAX route, accessibility was re-examined. After the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990, a study was carried out which found that the low-floor vehicles now available are better and more affordable. Accordingly, in 1994, 35 vehicles of the type SD660 were ordered from Siemens , which were then briefly referred to as type 2, to distinguish them from type 1 from Bombardier. With the construction of the Airport MAX route, another 27 vehicles were reordered, which are then referred to as Type 3. They have been in use since 2003 and only differ from type 2 in a few technical innovations. Types 1, 2 and 3 can be coupled to one another - with the commonly used double traction, the high-floor vehicles only run in combination with low-floor vehicles so that the lifts along the Eastside MAX route were dismantled.

With the establishment of the Transit Mall route and the Portland-Milwaukie route, new requirements arose, for which the company then switched to Siemens S70 vehicles. The type 4 was ordered in 2009 and the type 5 then in 2012. These can only be coupled with one another. In contrast to the previous types, they are consistently low-floor. Are also lighter, offer more seats, and are therefore considered to be cheaper and more efficient to operate than the old models.

In principle, the vehicles would also be suitable for driving more than double traction, but the historic downtown of Portland was built along the Transit Mall route with a floor plan that provided for very short block lengths of 200 feet (61 meters). Even the first types with 27 meters (89 feet) and the later types with 29 meters (95 feet) do not allow longer use here. Conversely, the journey as a single car has come out of use - it was still common in the beginning when the route was limited to the Eastside MAX route, and was still used on the night lines of the light rail until June 2011. The Siemens S70 vehicles were ultimately delivered with only one driver's cab so that they can only run in double traction ( fake bidirectional cars ).

In July 2019, Siemens Mobility announced the order for 26 S700 vehicles to replace the Type 1 vehicles. These low-floor vehicles are a further development of the S70 model. The first vehicles are to be delivered in 2021. There is an option for a further 60 vehicles.

Portland MAX Light Rail vehicles

image	Type	Vehicle numbers	Manufacturer	model	Use since	Number of seats / total capacity	number
	Type 1	101-126	Bombardier	none	1986	76/166	26th
	Type 2	201-252	Siemens	SD660	1997	64/166	52
	Type 3	301-327	Siemens	SD660	2003	64/166	27
	Type 4	401-422	Siemens	S70	2009	68/172	22nd
	Type 5	521-538	Siemens	S70	2015	72/186	18th
	Type 6		Siemens	S700	2021		26th

literature

• Robert Schwandl: Subways & Light Rail in the USA. Volume 2: West. Robert Schwandl Verlag Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-936573-35-0 . Pages 18 to 32.
• Steve Morgan: TriMet Portland opens new light rail line and new river bridge. in: Stadtverkehr 11/2015, ISSN 0038-9013, pages 14 to 16.

Web links

Commons : MAX light rail  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Trimet MAX

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Siemens Mobility Press Release, July 29, 2019: Siemens Mobility awarded order for 26 Light Rail Vehicles by Portland's TriMet
2. ↑ MAX: The Next Generation . TriMet . Archived from the original on March 4, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
3. ↑ PMLR Type 5 LRV Fact Sheet . TriMet. March 2015. Retrieved May 17, 2015.