Background The route presently used by WES consists of two historically separate railroads. The segment between Greton (near
Tigard) and
Wilsonville was originally built by the
Oregon Electric Railway in 1908; at Greton the line continued northeasterly to Portland, a route that was abandoned in the mid-1930s. The Oregon Electric stopped running passenger trains in the late 1930s and soon after switched to diesel locomotives, continuing to run freight trains to Beaverton and Portland to the north, and to Salem, Albany and Eugene to the south. The
Tigard branch from Greton to
Beaverton was built by the
Beaverton and Willsburg Railroad, an affiliate of
Southern Pacific, beginning in 1906, and opened to traffic in 1910. This route connected with Southern Pacific's existing west-east
West Side branch in Beaverton that provided service to Portland and Hillsboro, and a second route south of Tigard to Cook, which was a junction with the
Newberg branch between Lake Oswego and McMinnville. In 1914, the Southern Pacific electrified these lines as part of its
Red Electric service in competition with the Oregon Electric Railway; by 1929 the Southern Pacific ended electric service, and passenger service was switched first to steam trains and
doodlebugs, and later buses. Both the Southern Pacific and the Oregon Electric (and its successor
Burlington Northern) continued to provide freight service on the line until the 1990s when both railroads leased its low-density branches to shortline operators. In this case, the Southern Pacific leased its lines to newly formed
Portland & Western Railroad in August 1995; followed by the Burlington Northern leasing its lines to the Portland & Western in October 1995. This put the operations of two competing railroads in the same hands for the first time in history.
Planning and funding Led by
Washington County, planning for WES began in 1996, when county officials started working with the cities of Beaverton,
Tigard,
Tualatin, Wilsonville and
Sherwood, as well as government transportation agencies to study the idea of establishing passenger rail service between Beaverton and Wilsonville on the existing Portland & Western line. After years of delays due to lack of funding, the project received approval from the
Federal Transit Administration in May 2004, resulting in the funding of approximately 50 percent of the line's capital costs.
Construction, delays, and opening Construction began October 23, 2006, in
Wilsonville, and a ceremonial "ground-breaking" was held two days later in
Tigard, although the project had already started and no dirt was moved. During planning and construction, the project was called the
Washington County Commuter Rail, or alternately the Wilsonville to Beaverton Commuter Rail since much of Wilsonville is in
Clackamas County. TriMet held a naming contest to choose a name for the new line, and in November 2007 it announced WES (Westside Express Service) as the winner. By December of that year, construction on the rail line was 75 percent complete and included five new bridges and two rehabilitated bridges, and improvements to of track and
14 road crossings. A distinctive feature of the line is the
gauntlet track sections installed at the three intermediate stations (Hall-Nimbus, Tigard and Tualatin). The feature allows freight trains to swing clear of the high-level platforms at the stops, so that wider cars do not strike them. In June 2008, the line was more than 90 percent complete, with all the track in place. The four
Colorado Railcar Diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars ordered for the line then arrived; Originally scheduled to open in September 2008, opening was delayed several times and eventually to February 2009 due to technical and other difficulties, most notably the failure of
Colorado Railcar (CR). TriMet lost $3 million from the delays and from its financial support of CR, which included paying CR's suppliers and providing "rail engineering expertise and on-site technical assistance." A six-week naming contest was held for the new service with more than 1,700 entries submitted. The winning name, "WES" for "Westside Express Service", was revealed in a ceremony on November 19, 2007.
Proposed extension to Salem In April 2010, the Rail Division of the
Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) published a study for a potential southern extension of WES from Wilsonville to Salem. The study extended and proposed stations in
Woodburn,
Keizer, and either North Salem or Central Salem. , there have been no plans to expand WES service, owing to low ridership, but lawmakers have attempted to revisit the plan. In 2022, the city of Wilsonville revealed legislative concepts that included several service improvements to the WES commuter rail line including the Salem extension. In February 2024, SB 1572 was released, which if passed would require ODOT and other Oregon rail transit agencies to study the possibility of a Salem extension. In 2025, House Bill 3453 was released. This new bill, if fully passed and made into law, would create a separate entity, the Westside Express Service Authority (WESA), that would take over WES commuter rail service from TriMet and allow for increased service along the current line. The bill would then allow for a possible Salem extension and even Eugene. On June 27, 2025, the regular legislative session "adjourned sine die", with HB 3453 "in committee past adjournment". == Route ==