MAX Light Rail

Predecessors In the early 20th century, privately funded interurbans and streetcars gave Portland one of the largest urban rail systems in the American West, with lines that once extended as far north as Vancouver, Washington, south as Eugene, east as Troutdale, and west as Forest Grove. Ben Holladay brought Portland's first trolleys from San Francisco in 1872; drawn by horses and mules, they were operated by the Portland Street Railway Company. In 1890, the first electric streetcar opened in Albina while the first cable car began serving 5th Avenue; these marked the start of an era of major rail expansion. In 1892, the East Side Railway Company opened the first long-distance interurban line—a route from Portland to Oregon City. The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company had taken over all local streetcars by 1906, and interurbans by 1908. In 1912, as Portland's population exceeded 250,000, transit ridership stood at 70 million passengers annually. Portland's original streetcar lines had ceased operating by 1950, when the modern Portland Streetcar opened in downtown Portland. The region's last two interurban lines, which traveled to Oregon City and Bellrose (Southeast 136th Avenue), permanently closed in 1958. Early beginnings light rail train entering the 11th Avenue turnaround loop in downtown Portland in 1987 At the height of local freeway revolts in the 1970s, studies for public transit began using funds made available by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973. In 1973, Governor Tom McCall assembled a task force that helped determine several alternative options, including a busway and light rail. Local jurisdictions originally favored the busway alternative but support for light rail prevailed following the mode's inclusion in a 1977 environmental impact statement. The proposal became known as the Banfield light rail project, named for the Banfield Freeway, a segment of I-84 that part of the alignment followed. TriMet approved the project in September 1978. Construction of the , 27-station line between 11th Avenue in downtown Portland and Cleveland Avenue in Gresham began in March 1982. Inaugural service commenced on September 5, 1986. Less than two months before opening, TriMet adopted the name "Metropolitan Area Express", or "MAX", following an employee contest. As the planning of a light rail line to the west side gained momentum in the mid-1980s, the original MAX line came to be referred to as the Eastside MAX to distinguish it from what would become the Westside MAX extension. Early proposals called for the extension to terminate just west of the Beaverton–Hillsboro boundary on 185th Avenue in Washington County. A dispute between TriMet and the Urban Mass Transportation Administration over a financing plan suspended the project for several years but planning resumed in 1988 and studies were completed in 1991. Staunch lobbying by local and state officials led by Hillsboro Mayor Shirley Huffman forced an extension of the line further west to downtown Hillsboro in 1993. Construction of the 20-station, line began that August with the excavation of the Robertson Tunnel. The Westside MAX opened in two stages following delays in tunneling: the section from 11th Avenue to Kings Hill/Southwest Salmon Street was opened in 1997 and the section to Hatfield Government Center—the segment's current western terminus—was opened in 1998. The resulting MAX line began operating as a single, through service on September 12, 1998. This service was renamed the Blue Line in 2001 after TriMet adopted color designations for its light rail routes. South/North plan At the same time TriMet was planning the Westside MAX in the mid-1980s, Metro regional government announced new light rail proposals for Clackamas County. Its planning committee—the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation (JPACT)—proposed two separate routes that would have run between downtown Portland and Oregon City via Milwaukie and between Portland International Airport and Clackamas Town Center via I-205. Further planning led JPACT to favor the I-205 corridor due to an existing right-of-way along the I-205 Transitway, an unfinished mass transit component of the freeway that had been built to accommodate a busway. TriMet, however, prioritized the Westside MAX during its bid for federal matching funds and the I-205 plans were put on hold. In 1989, studies for both I-205 and Milwaukie proposals received funding from the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations under the condition that they included potential route extensions to Clark County, Washington. Metro completed the studies in 1993, ultimately abandoning I-205 in favor of a route along the I-5 and Willamette River corridors. It finalized a single line from Hazel Dell, Washington south to Clackamas Town Center via Milwaukie, which Metro and TriMet formally named the South–North Line. In November 1994, 63% of Portland area voters passed a $475million ballot measure to fund Oregon's portion of the project. To move the project forward, TriMet downsized the plan and abandoned the line's Clark County and North Portland segments up to the Rose Quarter. That July, the Oregon House of Representatives approved a $750million transportation package, which included $375 million for the scaled-back line. The funding was annulled by the Oregon Supreme Court due to the inclusion of unrelated measures that violated the state's constitution. The legislature met again in February 1996 and passed a revised $375million package, A third proposal between Lombard Street in North Portland and Clackamas Town Center followed. This time, Metro and TriMet pursued the project without seeking contributions from either Clark County or the state, instead sourcing funds from Clackamas County and Portland. In 1998, TriMet placed a new ballot measure to reaffirm voter support for the $475million originally approved in 1994. Airport and Interstate lines in 2009, when it was served by the Blue, Red, and Yellow lines Compelled by the rapid expansion of Portland International Airport in the 1990s, the Port of Portland began exploring ways to alleviate worsening traffic congestion, including the possibility of introducing MAX service, which regional planners had not anticipated for at least another 20 years. In 1997, engineering firm Bechtel accelerated plans by submitting an unsolicited proposal to design and build an airport rail link in exchange for of Port property. A public–private partnership between the company and local governments was negotiated and construction of the Airport MAX began in June 1999. With no federal assistance requested and right-of-way already secured, The four-station, line between Gateway/Northeast 99th Avenue Transit Center and Portland International Airport station opened on September 10, 2001. Celebrations scheduled for that weekend were canceled in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Red Line service originally ran between the airport and downtown, turning around at the loop tracks on 11th Avenue. On September 1, 2003, it was extended west along existing tracks to Beaverton Transit Center to relieve overcrowding on the Blue Line and to create a one-seat airport connection for the west side. In 1999, Portland business leaders and residents who were opposed to the cancellation of the South–North Line urged TriMet to revive the project. TriMet responded with a new proposal that would expand MAX solely to North Portland via North Interstate Avenue. The agency moved forward with this plan and the Interstate MAX broke ground in February 2001. To minimize costs to taxpayers, the city created an urban renewal district and federal matching funds were allocated from the Airport MAX and Portland Streetcar projects, since these projects were locally funded. The 10-station, extension from the Rose Quarter to the Expo Center opened on May 1, 2004, with its new service designated the Yellow Line. From 2004 to 2009, the Yellow Line ran from Expo Center station in North Portland to 11th Avenue in downtown Portland, following the Blue and Red lines' downtown alignment from the Steel Bridge. On August 30, 2009, it was rerouted to terminate at the PSU Urban Center stations with the addition of light rail to the Portland Transit Mall. In September 2012, this was extended further south to the PSU South stations, which had not been built due to the construction of nearby transit-oriented development. The Yellow Line became interlined with the Orange Line in 2015; it now only operates the northbound segment of the transit mall. South Corridor extensions , with Tilikum Crossing in the background, during the Orange Line's opening in 2015 In 2001, Metro revisited its former light rail plans for Clackamas County and reconsidered proposals similar to those of the canceled south–north project, with two routes extending to Clackamas and Milwaukie. This resulted in a new study, which Metro referred to as the South Corridor transportation project, that evaluated light rail among other alternatives. The study's task force recommend both light rail options in 2003 and suggested splitting the project into two phases. The first phase planned for the addition of light rail to I-205, between Gateway Transit Center and Clackamas Town Center. In October of that year, the first phase plans were amended to include adding light rail to the Portland Transit Mall following a petition from Portland business leaders. The combined project was approved for federal funding in 2006 and work began in January 2007. Light rail commenced service along the 14-station, Portland Transit Mall on August 30, 2009, first served by the Yellow Line. The South Corridor project's second phase initially proposed the extension of MAX between downtown Portland and Milwaukie via the Hawthorne Bridge. Studies showed that this alignment would cause severe traffic bottlenecks in downtown. TriMet designed this bridge, which was eventually inaugurated as Tilikum Crossing, to be "car-free" and to accommodate only transit vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Construction of the line began in June 2011. In September 2012, opponents passed a ballot initiative—with 60% of the vote—requiring all Clackamas County spending on light rail to be approved by voters. Following the county's attempt to end its involvement and a suit filed by TriMet, a circuit court upheld the project's continuation. The 17-station, Portland–Milwaukie segment and Orange Line service opened on September 12, 2015. The Orange Line, operating along the Portland Transit Mall's southbound segment, became the third service to serve this corridor. TriMet, citing system-wide delays caused by two single-track segments along the Airport MAX, announced the MAX Red Line Improvements Project, later renamed "A Better Red". A Better Red sought double-tracking a section of track north of Gateway Transit Center and another section alongside Northeast Airport Way just before the airport terminal. To qualify the project for federal funding, TriMet included extending Red Line service farther west to Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station in Hillsboro; Preliminary design work began in February 2018. TriMet adopted a locally preferred alternative in April 2019, and the FTA announced $99.99 million for the project through the Capital Investment Grants program in May 2020. Final design was completed by engineering firm Parametrix in early 2021. The design includes two new bridges north of Gateway Transit Center to accommodate the second track and a new MAX platform called "Gateway North". From April 2–9, 2022, Red Line service was suspended to make way for construction, and shuttle buses operated between Gateway Transit Center and Portland International Airport. The project was completed in March 2024. From June 18 to October 21, 2023, TriMet suspended MAX service between Gateway Transit Center and the airport to allow for construction of the second track between the airport and Mount Hood Avenue. From January 14 to March 3, 2024, TriMet suspended MAX Red, Blue and Green Line service between NE 7th and Gateway Transit Center. Inbound Red Line trains from PDX began serving Gateway North on March 4, 2024. These projects eliminated the last bidirectional single-track sections on the MAX system. The Red Line extension to Hillsboro began service on August 25, 2024, with a soft launch, with the full launch beginning on August 28. Fair Complex/Hillsboro Airport station was also renamed to Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station. == Future expansion and improvements ==

MAX expansion projects are generally advised by the federally mandated regional transportation plan (RTP). The RTP evaluates the region's most urgent transportation needs and guides investment strategy over the next two decades. Every five years, the RTP is updated, during which TriMet collaborates with local, regional, state, and federal governments and agencies, community organizations, business groups, and members of the public to identify and recommend projects. Metro is the metropolitan planning organization for the Oregon side of the Portland metropolitan area tasked with publishing the RTP, and the 2023 RTP is its latest iteration. The 2023 RTP update included an update to Metro's high-capacity transit (HCT) strategy, which further identifies regional corridors to prioritize for transit upgrades and transit modes to invest in. The 2023 HCT strategy lists 29 regional priority investment corridors, ranked into four tiers based on a readiness criteria. Tier 1 near-term corridors are defined as "corridors most viable to advance into implementation in the next four years" and include those with adopted locally preferred alternatives. Tier 2 next-phase corridors are corridors that may be pursued "if recommended land use planning and policy actions are implemented" and are candidates for HCT implementation within the next five years. Tier 3 and 4 corridors are corridors that ranked low on the readiness criteria and have a longer-term path towards implementation. Yellow Line extension to Vancouver The Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program includes a northward extension of the Yellow Line to serve Vancouver, Washington. The project would add of track and three new stations at Hayden Island, the Vancouver Waterfront, and Evergreen Boulevard. An earlier proposal for the extension was a part of the Columbia River Crossing project in the early 2010s. That project would have extended light rail to Clark College and added seven stations. The CRC project was cancelled in July 2013 after the Washington State Senate failed to approve $450 million in funding, with the inclusion of light rail cited as a common objection from opponents. Southwest Corridor The Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project is a planned extension of MAX from PSU in downtown Portland to Bridgeport Village in Tualatin. It would add of track and 13 new stations. On November 3, 2020, the project was suspended after voters rejected a tax ballot measure, Measure 26-218, that would have funded the local-area share. Central City Tunnel Constructs a tunnel beneath downtown Portland from Goose Hollow to the Lloyd Center. In 2025, Metro completed a Regional Rail Futures Study where it concluded that the proposed tunnel or a replacement of the Steel Bridge should be the highest priority for cross-regional transit mobility. Other proposals Metro's Regional Rail Futures Study identifies two additional corridors presenting "immediate" opportunities for light rail. ==Lines==

For MAX, a "line" refers to the physical railroad tracks and stations a train serves within its designated termini—in other words, a train route or service. TriMet operates five MAX lines, each identified by a color. It adopted color designations for separately operated routes in 2000 and implemented them on September 10, 2001, with the opening of the Airport MAX extension. On that date, service between Hillsboro and Gresham was designated the Blue Line, while service between downtown Portland and Portland International Airport became the Red Line. Every MAX line interlines with at least one other service, particularly near the system's central area. TriMet has modified routes over time, often in conjunction with system expansions. For example, the Yellow Line, which began service in 2004, originally followed the same downtown Portland alignment as the Blue and Red lines. In 2009, it was realigned to the Portland Transit Mall when light rail service was introduced to that corridor. ==Infrastructure==

Segments The MAX rail network is long. It was built in a series of six projects starting with the Banfield—now called Eastside—segment between downtown Portland and Gresham. Each successive project has either been an extension or a branch of an existing segment. TriMet has typically paired each project with the opening of a new line, often making the line and segment synonymous (e.g. "Airport MAX Red Line"). Right-of-way MAX operates on a mixture of shared and exclusive transit rights-of-way. Within downtown Portland, trains run on surface streets in dedicated lanes restricted to private vehicles, and operators follow the city's traffic control system. On the Morrison–Yamhill couplet, MAX travels in the left lanes. On the Portland Transit Mall (the 5th and 6th avenue couplet), MAX shares dedicated lanes with buses, and both travel in the center or right lanes and stop at their respective curbside platforms on the right. A section runs beneath Washington Park in Portland's West Hills through the Robertson Tunnel, the system's longest underground segment. MAX crosses the Willamette River via the Steel Bridge and Tilikum Crossing. In studies for the Banfield Light Rail Project, planners recommended using the Steel Bridge because of its earlier role as a river crossing for the city's historic streetcars. When MAX entered service in 1986, trains shared the bridge's center lanes with vehicular traffic. On the other hand, TriMet designed and built the newer Tilikum Crossing to serve transit vehicles (MAX, streetcar, and buses), cyclists, and pedestrians only; private vehicles are prohibited, except for emergency responders. As a result, Tilikum Crossing is widely recognized as the first major “car-free” bridge in the United States. For example, along the Banfield Freeway between Lloyd Center/NE 11th Ave station and Gateway Transit Center, ABS can accommodate operating headways as short as two minutes. In these sections, automatic train stops (ATS) enforce speed limits and apply the brakes if an operator fails to do so. The remaining 30 percent of the system relies on traffic signals and line-of-sight operation. Here, speeds do not exceed . The Ruby Junction facility is located near Ruby Junction/E 197th Ave station while the Elmonica facility is adjacent to Elmonica/SW 170th Ave station; both are on the Blue Line. Ruby Junction began with one building that TriMet built as part of the Banfield Light Rail Project in 1982. It had expanded to three multi-story buildings totaling occupying by 2010, Ruby Junction originally housed light-rail operations, communications, and administrative workers. The Elmonica facility was built as part of the Westside MAX extension in the mid-1990s and was completed in 1996. It was built as a satellite facility to reduce dead mileage and improve system reliability in the event of a service disruption on the Eastside MAX. Its building has of space. ==Stations==

, renovated in 2017 The MAX system comprises 93 stations. Of these, 47 are served by the Blue Line, 30 by the Green Line, 36 by the Red Line, 17 by the Orange Line, and 17 by the Yellow Line. The system's central stations, where riders can board any MAX service, are located along the two downtown Portland blocks occupied by the Pioneer Courthouse and Pioneer Courthouse Square. These are the Pioneer Courthouse/SW 6th and Pioneer Place/SW 5th stations, served by the Green, Orange, and Yellow lines, and the Pioneer Square stations, served by the Blue and Red lines. Like other North American light rail systems, MAX stations do not have faregates; paid fare zones are delineated but remain accessible to anyone. In 2015, TriMet proposed installing turnstiles at stations along the Portland–Milwaukie segment but has not yet done so. Stations are typically equipped with trash cans, shelters, and ticket vending machines. Most stations have arrival information displays that show when trains will arrive and provide other service information, and concession stands operate at some locations. A majority of MAX stations are at street level, correlating to the system's predominant alignment. Sunset Transit Center, , and stations along the Banfield Freeway are below street level. One station, , is elevated. Washington Park is the system's only underground station and holds the distinction as North America's deepest transit station at below ground. MAX stations are often served by or connected with other modes of public transit. Eleven stations are designated as transit centers with connections to multiple local and intercity bus routes. Beaverton Transit Center is the only MAX-served transit center with a transfer to the region's commuter rail line, WES Commuter Rail, which operates between Beaverton and Wilsonville in Washington County. Within the Portland Transit Mall, trains connect with buses serving downtown Portland; bus stops take up transit mall blocks unoccupied by light rail platforms. MAX riders can transfer to the Portland Streetcar at points where MAX and streetcar lines intersect and to Amtrak via two stations near Portland Union Station. TriMet has built a total of six infill stations. Four were built on the original Eastside MAX alignment—Mall/Southwest 4th Avenue (1990), Mall/Southwest 5th Avenue (1990), Convention Center (1990), and (2010)—while two were built on the Portland Transit Mall—PSU South/Southwest 6th and College (2012) and PSU South/Southwest 5th and Jackson (2012). Accessibility in 1996 in a low-floor MAX car and tactile paving on the platform Stations built as part of the Banfield Light Rail Project were originally equipped with electric wheelchair lifts to allow riders using mobility devices to board the system’s high-floor, first-generation vehicles. Due to mechanical and operational issues, only a dozen of the planned 54 lifts serving all 25 stations had been installed by the time the line opened; the final one was installed in May 1987. Each station had two lifts, one for each direction of travel. They were installed on platforms rather than on trains to prevent malfunctions from delaying service, After the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, TriMet developed a paratransit plan in January 1992. Shortly before the start of the Westside MAX project, MAX became the first light rail system in North America to procure low-floor vehicles, following a TriMet study of European systems. entered service in August 1997. MAX achieved full accessibility in April 1999. Non-street-level platforms may be accessed with elevators. In each train, an audio system and LED signs announce the name of each upcoming station. All trains have spaces and priority seating areas reserved for seniors and people with disabilities, and service animals are permitted on board. TriMet installed pipe barriers at Gateway Transit Center platform crossings to force pedestrians to slow down and face oncoming trains before crossing the tracks and realigned sidewalks and crosswalks at four at-grade crossings in Gresham. Other improvements made throughout the line include the installation of pedestrian warning signals and tactile paving upgrades. Parking Based on a report published in 2019, TriMet provides a total of 12,614 park-and-ride spaces, of which 10,219 directly serve 25 MAX stations. The agency's parking facilities are either surface lots or multi-level garages, and they are free to use. TriMet allows vehicles to park at most stalls overnight as long as they do not exceed 24 hours. At some locations, TriMet negotiates with nearby establishments for additional parking spaces. Westside MAX stations contain 3,643 parking spaces, the most number of spaces in a corridor. Bike and rides are secure, enclosed spaces that are accessible by keycard and are monitored 24 hours per day by security cameras; they are available at eight stations. Electronic bicycle lockers, or eLockers, are secure lockers that may also be accessed by keycard and are made available on a first-come, first-served basis. TriMet contracts some keycard access to BikeLink and uses its Hop Fastpass on others. Other lockers may be rented by users. Bicycle racks are the most common form of bicycle parking. ==Rolling stock==

, TriMet operates six models of light rail cars, designated as "Type 1" through "Type 6", two of which are successive upgrades of the same base model. The MAX system’s 145 cars range in length from to and are used interchangeably across all lines. Type 2 and Type 3 low-floor cars may operate either individually or coupled with Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3 cars. Type 1 high-floor cars are also capable of running individually, but TriMet does not do this due to a lack of wheelchair access. Instead, high-floor cars are coupled with low-floor cars. Type 4 and 5 cars can only be coupled to one another, but a budget shortfall forced the agency to withdraw this proposal the following November. The cars are similar in design to Bombardier vehicles that had been used in Rio de Janeiro. the first of which arrived in Portland in 1984. Each car is single-articulated and contains six axles. The high floors connect with the low platforms through interior steps, which necessitated platform wheelchair lifts until the arrival of low-floor cars. The Type 1 was officially retired in April 2026, with a special farewell event taking place on April 18. In 1992, TriMet officials conducted an accessibility study and determined that low-floor cars were the most cost-effective alternative to providing universal access. These Type 2 cars were equipped with doorway wheelchair ramps. They entered service during the partial opening of the Westside MAX in 1997. By 2000, TriMet had ordered 17 more Type 2 cars including six for the Airport MAX project. Twenty-two Siemens S70 low-floor cars, which were designated Type 4, were purchased in conjunction with the I-205 MAX and Portland Transit Mall projects, and were first used in 2009. Type 4 cars have a more streamlined design and more seating, and are lighter and more energy-efficient than the previous models. The Type 4 cars were the first in the MAX network to use LED-type destination signs. The second series of S70 cars, TriMet's Type 5 vehicles, were procured for the Portland–Milwaukie light rail project. TriMet placed an order for the Type 5 cars with Siemens in 2012 and delivery commenced in 2014. These vehicles include some improvements over the Type 4 cars, including less-cramped interior seating, and improvements to the air-conditioning system and wheelchair ramps. These introduced a new seating layout in the center section, among other changes, and Siemens later retroactively redesignated TriMet's Type 5 cars as model S700. In July 2019, TriMet placed an order for 26 Siemens S700 light rail vehicles that are intended to replace the system's Type 1 vehicles. The first car was delivered in December 2022, and the type is designated Type 6. In January 2025, Type 6 vehicles began entering service, with vehicles 603 and 605 being the first two cars to enter revenue service. ==Services==

From Monday to Thursday, MAX trains run for 22 hours per day. Additional late-night trips are provided on Fridays, and except for additional late-night trips on Saturdays, weekend service runs on a slightly reduced schedule. TriMet designates all MAX lines as "Frequent Service" routes, which ensures service runs on a 15-minute headway for most of each day. During the early morning and late evening hours, trains operate with headways of up to 30minutes. During rush hours, headways can be as short as three minutes, particularly in the central section of the system where lines overlap. Ridership MAX carried over 38.8million total passengers in 2019, an average of 120,900 riders per day on weekdays. This is slightly lower than the number of riders recorded in 2018 and represents the system's third consecutive year of fallen ridership. MAX ridership peaked in 2012, when the system recorded around 42.2million annual passengers. 2016 marks the last year ridership increased; this was due to the opening of the Orange Line. In 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic), MAX was the fourth-busiest light rail system in the United States after the light rail services of Metro Rail in Los Angeles, the MBTA in Boston, and Muni Metro in San Francisco. Fares As is standard practice on North American light rail systems, MAX uses proof-of-payment for fare collection, and stations do not have ticket barriers. which can be purchased from the TriMet ticket office or participating retail outlets. Smartphone users may download a virtual version of Hop Fastpass, while single-use Hop Fastpass tickets are dispensed by ticket vending machines at every MAX station. Smartphones with a debit or credit card loaded into Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or Apple Pay, and Portland Streetcar 2-hour tickets and one-day passes can also be used to board MAX. Riders must tap their fare medium onto a card reader with each boarding. Fares are flat rate and are capped according to use. Using Hop Fastpass, riders may transfer to the Portland Streetcar and other TriMet and C-Tran services. In 2025, TriMet replaced all of its ticket vending machines with new machines that dispense only Hop cards at all of its stations. Late-night bus service On August 25, 2024, TriMet introduced four new bus routes to replace late-night MAX services, to expand the length of time available each night for routine overnight maintenance. The new routes replace the last one or two MAX trips of the night on the Blue (two bus routes), Red, and Yellow Lines, but not the Green Line. This practice had already been in effect on the Orange Line since its opening in 2015. Discontinued services From the MAX system's opening until 2012, riding trains within Fareless Square, which was known as the Free Rail Zone from 2010 to 2012, was free of charge. Fareless Square included all of downtown and, starting in 2001, part of the Lloyd District. The 37-year-old fare-free zone was discontinued on September 1, 2012, as part of system-wide cost-cutting measures. As part of the same budget cuts, TriMet discontinued its zonal fares and moved to a flat-fare system. Zones had been in place since 1986; higher fares were charged for longer journeys across four paid zones. It acted as a supplement to the light rail service provided on the Portland Transit Mall by the Green and Yellow lines. The Mall Shuttle operated between Union Station and Portland State University every 30 minutes from noon until 5:30p.m. Along with bus services, the mall continues to be served by two MAX lines in each direction—Green and Yellow lines northbound and Green and Orange lines southbound—which provide a combined average headway of 7.5 minutes in each direction at most times. The Portland Vintage Trolley operated on the MAX system on most weekends from 1991 until 2014, serving the same stops. This service used 1991-built replicas of 1904 Portland streetcars. Originally, the Vintage Trolley service followed a section of the original MAX line between the Library and Galleria stations and Lloyd Center. In September 2009, the service moved to the newly opened MAX alignment along the transit mall, running between Union Station to Portland State University, and remained on this route in subsequent seasons. In 2011, the service was reduced to seven or eight Sundays per year, and in July 2014 it was discontinued entirely and the two remaining faux-vintage cars were sold to a group planning a streetcar line in St. Louis. ==Safety==

TriMet employs a transit police division to patrol MAX and other TriMet property. Most of its officers serve with local law enforcement agencies and are assigned terms with the transit police; this partnership with local police enables the closest available unit to respond to incidents. TriMet also partners with the Transportation Security Administration, which provides a canine unit. Riders are encouraged to alert TriMet employees using on-board intercoms or to dial 9-1-1 upon witnessing a crime or suspicious activity. TriMet operates over 4,000 security cameras; all MAX trains and stations became fully equipped with cameras in 2014. 2017 train stabbing incident On May 26, 2017, at approximately 4:30pm, a man fatally stabbed two people and injured a third after he was confronted for shouting anti-Muslim slurs at two teenage girls inside a MAX train. Two men—a technician and U.S. Army veteran, and a recent university graduate—died from wounds to their necks while a third male victim survived. The attacker, who described himself as a white nationalist, was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, and other crimes. On February 21, 2020, the perpetrator was found guilty on all charges, including two counts of first-degree murder. This resulted in a mural being painted on the station entrance of the Hollywood Transit Center, where the stabbing occurred. 2023 Portland Streetcar collision On November 15, 2023, shortly after 10:00am, a MAX train collided with a Portland Streetcar in the Lloyd District and injured two people on board. ==See also==