MAX Red Line

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The Red Line on the Interstate 84
The Red Line on the Interstate 84

The MAX Red Line is a route in the Metropolitan Area Express light rail system in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The route, operated by TriMet, provides an airport rail link to Portland International Airport from Beaverton and downtown Portland.

[edit] History

When the Portland International Airport was suffering from heavy road traffic coming from increased passenger service, and the Port of Portland was running out of land for new parking lots, the Port approached TriMet about bringing MAX to the airport, following through on a plan that dated to highway construction in the 1970s which had left room for such a connection.

The Airport MAX project was born, but the line was delayed after a North-South light rail proposal, part of which is today's MAX Yellow Line, was defeated at the polls. Instead, the Port and TriMet built the project through a Public-Private Partnership with the Bechtel Corporation. Bechtel agreed to pay for a large portion of the land cost of the line in exchange for rights to the Cascades development on empty land that the Port of Portland owned near I-205 and the Airport which is now under construction.

The line opened on September 10, 2001, one day before the September 11, 2001 attacks, which had the side effect of shutting down all air travel in the United States for several days.

Beginning in 2003, the Red Line's service was extended farther west along the existing Blue Line tracks, from downtown Portland to downtown Beaverton, to improve capacity between the Gateway area and Beaverton and also to provide a no-transfer airport connection for Westside MAX riders.

[edit] Future plans

The Red Line may branch up I-205 over the Glenn L. Jackson Memorial Bridge into Vancouver, Washington.

[edit] Stations

Name Opening Year Interchange Municipality Fare Zone Park and Ride?
MAX Red Line (Airport-Beaverton)
Airport 2001 Portland 3 No
Mount Hood Avenue 2001 Portland 3 No
Cascades 2001 Portland 3 No
Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center 2001 Portland 3 Yes
Gateway/Northeast 99th Avenue
Transit Center
1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 3 Yes
Northeast 82nd Avenue 1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 2 No
Northeast 60th Avenue 1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 2 No
Hollywood/Northeast 42nd Avenue
Transit Center
1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 2 No
Lloyd Center/Northeast 11th Avenue 1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Northeast 7th Avenue 1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Convention Center 1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Rose Quarter Transit Center 1986 MAX Blue Line Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Old Town/Chinatown 1986 MAX Blue Line
MAX Yellow Line
Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Skidmore Fountain 1986 MAX Blue Line
MAX Yellow Line
Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Oak Street/Southwest 1st Avenue 1986 MAX Blue Line
MAX Yellow Line
Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
The route has separate westbound and eastbound tracks.
Yamhill District (eastbound);
Morrison/Southwest 3rd Avenue (westbound)
1986 MAX Blue Line
MAX Yellow Line
Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue (eastbound);
Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue (westbound)
1986 MAX Blue Line
MAX Yellow Line
Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Pioneer Square South (eastbound);
Pioneer Square North (westbound)
1986 MAX Blue Line
MAX Yellow Line
Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
Library/Southwest 9th Avenue (eastbound);
Galleria/Southwest 10th Avenue (westbound)
1986 MAX Blue Line
MAX Yellow Line
Portland
Streetcar
Portland 1
Fareless Square
No
PGE Park 1997 MAX Blue Line Portland 1 No
The route combines the eastbound and westbound tracks again.
Kings Hill/Southwest Salmon 1997 MAX Blue Line Portland 1 No
Goose Hollow/Southwest Jefferson
Street
1998 MAX Blue Line Portland 1 No
Washington Park 1998 MAX Blue Line Portland 1 No
Sunset Transit Center 1998 MAX Blue Line Washington
County
3 Yes
Beaverton Transit Center 1998 MAX Blue Line
WES Commuter Rail
Beaverton 3 No
Beaverton Central 1998, Service starts September 2008 MAX Blue Line Beaverton 3 No
Millikan Way 1998, Service starts September 2008 MAX Blue Line Beaverton 3 No
Beaverton Creek 1998, Service starts September 2008 MAX Blue Line Beaverton 3 No
Merlo Road/Southwest 158th Ave 1998, Service starts September 2008 MAX Blue Line Beaverton 3 No