MAX Blue Line

MAX Blue Line
A light-rail train crossing a bridge
A Blue Line train crossing the Steel Bridge in Portland
Overview
Other name(s)Eastside segment:
Banfield Light Rail Project
Eastside MAX[1]
Westside segment:
Westside MAX[2]
OwnerTriMet
LocalePortland, Oregon, U.S.
Termini
Stations48 (1 temporarily closed)[3]
WebsiteMAX Blue Line
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemMAX Light Rail
Operator(s)TriMet
Daily ridership55,370 (as of September 2018)[4]
History
OpenedSeptember 5, 1986 (1986-09-05)
Technical
Line length33 mi (53 km)[a]
Number of tracks2
CharacterAt-grade, elevated, and underground
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line750 V DC
Maximum incline7.0%[5][6]
Route diagram

Hatfield Government Center
Parking
Hillsboro Central/​Southeast 3rd Avenue Transit Center
Hillsboro Health District
Parking
Washington/​Southeast 12th Avenue
Hillsboro Airport/​Fairgrounds Terminus
Hillsboro Airport Parking
Hawthorn Farm
Orenco
Parking
Quatama
Parking
Willow Creek/​Southwest 185th Avenue Transit Center
Parking
Elmonica/​Southwest 170th Avenue
Parking
Merlo Road/​Southwest 158th Avenue
Beaverton Creek
Parking
Millikan Way
Parking
Beaverton Central
Beaverton Transit Center
WES Commuter Rail
Sunset Transit Center
Parking
Washington Park
Goose Hollow/​Southwest Jefferson Street
Providence Park
B NS (SW 11th Ave)
A NS (SW 10th Ave)
Galleria/​Southwest 10th Avenue
Portland Streetcar
Library/​Southwest 9th Avenue
Portland Streetcar
Pioneer Square North
Pioneer Square South
Portland Transit Mall (SW 6th Ave)
Portland Transit Mall (SW 5th Ave)
Morrison/​Southwest 3rd Avenue
Yamhill District
Oak Street/​Southwest 1st Avenue
Skidmore Fountain
Old Town/​Chinatown
Portland Transit Mall (NW Glisan St)
Rose Quarter Transit Center
Convention Center
Portland Streetcar
B (NE Grand Ave)
A (NE 7th Ave)
Northeast 7th Avenue
Portland Streetcar
Lloyd Center/​Northeast 11th Avenue
Hollywood/​Northeast 42nd Avenue
Northeast 60th Avenue
Northeast 82nd Avenue
Gateway/​Northeast 99th Avenue Transit Center
Parking
East 102nd Avenue
East 122nd Avenue
Parking
East 148th Avenue
East 162nd Avenue
East 172nd Avenue
East 181st Avenue
Parking
Rockwood/​East 188th Avenue
Ruby Junction/East 197th Avenue
Civic Drive
Gresham City Hall
Parking
Gresham Central Transit Center
Parking
Cleveland Avenue
Parking

The MAX Blue Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of the MAX Light Rail system, it connects Hillsboro, Beaverton, Portland, and Gresham. The Blue Line is the longest in the network; it travels approximately 33 miles (53 km) and serves 48 stations from Hatfield Government Center to Cleveland Avenue. It is the busiest of the five MAX lines, having carried an average 55,370 riders each day on weekdays in September 2018. Service runs for 2212 hours per day from Monday to Thursday, with headways of between 30 minutes off-peak and five minutes during rush hour. It runs later in the evening on Fridays and Saturdays and ends earlier on Sundays.

The success of local freeway revolts in Portland in the early 1970s led to a reallocation of federal assistance funds from the proposed Mount Hood Freeway and Interstate 505 (I-505) projects to mass transit. Among various proposals, local governments approved the construction of a light rail line between Gresham and Portland in 1978. Referred to as the Banfield Light Rail Project during planning and construction as a part of the Banfield Freeway redevelopment, construction of what is now the Eastside MAX segment began in 1983. The line was inaugurated as the Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) on September 5, 1986.

Planning for an extension of MAX to the west side began as early as 1979. Known as the Westside MAX, construction was delayed by nearly a decade due to funding disagreements. Originally designed to terminate at 185th Avenue near the border of Hillsboro and Beaverton, proponents for a longer line achieved a supplemental extension to downtown Hillsboro just before groundbreaking in 1993. The Westside MAX opened in two phases following delays in tunnel construction; the first section up to Goose Hollow opened in 1997 while the rest opened on September 12, 1998.

In 2000, the two distinct segments, already operating as a single through route between Gresham and Hillsboro, were unified in passenger information as the Blue Line after TriMet introduced a color coding scheme in preparation for the opening of the Red Line to Portland International Airport. The Blue Line currently shares its route with the Red Line on the west side, between Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds station and Rose Quarter Transit Center. On the east side, it shares tracks with both the Red Line and the Green Line, between Rose Quarter Transit Center and Gateway/Northeast 99th Avenue Transit Center.

  1. ^ "Banfield Light Rail Eastside MAX Blue Line" (PDF). TriMet. July 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
  2. ^ "Westside MAX Blue Line Extension" (PDF). TriMet. July 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Altstadt, Roberta (July 24, 2019). "TriMet to make MAX service more efficient with closure of three stations in Downtown Portland in March 2020". TriMet. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  4. ^ "September 2018 Monthly Performance Report" (PDF). TriMet. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference LRA-1994 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Sheldrake, Arlen; et al. (2012). Steel Over the Willamette. Portland, Oregon: Pacific Northwest Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-9851207-0-2.


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