MAX Light Rail - Rolling Stock

Rolling Stock

There are currently four models of MAX cars, designated by TriMet as "Type 1", "Type 2" and so on.

The Type 1 cars were manufactured by Bombardier Corporation and featured a raised floor with steps at the doors. The first car was completed at the factory in late 1983 and arrived in Portland in 1984.

With the partial opening of Westside MAX in 1997, new cars made by Siemens and called Type 2 by TriMet were introduced. These cars have a low-floor design, a first for light rail cars in North America, digital readerboards and a slightly more open floor plan. The floor is nearly level with the platforms, and small ramps called "bridge plates" extend (on request) from two of the four doors, enabling passengers in wheelchairs to roll on and off of the car easily. These permitted the elimination of wheelchair lifts that had been located at every station and were time-consuming to use. Type 1 cars are now always paired with a Type 2 or 3 car so that each train is wheelchair-accessible.

The first low-floor light rail car was delivered in 1996 and the type was first used in service on August 31, 1997. The new cars also came equipped with air-conditioning, a feature originally lacking from the Type 1 cars, but TriMet later retrofitted air-conditioning to all of the older MAX cars, in 1997–98. The initial order of 39 Type 2 cars was expanded, in stages, eventually to a total of 52 cars.

Some of the later models of light rail cars had automatic passenger counters retrofitted; in these models, they are on the floor of the doorways.

The Type 3 cars are essentially identical to the Type 2 cars in design, but have TriMet's new paint scheme. They began to enter service in fall 2003, but were not in use in large numbers until the opening of the Interstate Avenue MAX line in 2004, which was the reason for their acquisition. They include automatic passenger counters which are located above the doorways, using photoelectric sensors.

In 2001–02, TriMet modified the interior of the Type 2 cars to add space for bicycles. Eight seats per car were removed and replaced—in four places per car—with hooks from which a bicycle can be hung. The Type 3 cars carried this newer layout as built.

Twenty-two new Siemens S70 vehicles, designated Type 4 cars, were purchased in conjunction with the I-205 and Portland Mall MAX projects. They feature a more streamlined design than previous models, have more seating and are lighter in weight and therefore more energy-efficient. At about 95 feet (28.96 m) long, they are about three feet longer than Type 2 and Type 3 cars, which were 92 feet (28.04 m). The Type 4 MAX cars began to enter service in August 2009. All four different types of cars are used on all four MAX lines.

For the new Orange Line (under construction), TriMet placed an order with Siemens in April 2012 for another 18 S70 cars, the same model as the Type 4. These are expected to include some minor modifications, such as improved interior seating. The agency has designated them Type 5, and their fleet numbers are planned to be 521–538. (The numbers 511–514 are already in use for TriMet's Vintage Trolley cars.) They are scheduled to be delivered in 2014–15.

The Type 1, 2 and 3 cars have destination signs of the roll-type, whereas the signs in the Type 4 cars are LED-type. In the rollsigns, the designated route color (blue, green, red or yellow) is shown as a colored background under white (or black) text in the display, while in the LED signs the route color is indicated by a colored square at the left end of the display, and all text is orange lettering against a black background.

Notes on capacities:

• The capacities given are for a single car; a two-car train has double the capacity.
• The Type 2 cars originally had 72 seats, but eight seats were later removed, to make space for bicycles.
• All of these capacity figures are based on "normal" loading conditions (defined as 4 standing passengers per square meter by industry standards); under so-called "crush" loading conditions (6-8 standees per m2), all of these cars are capable of carrying many more passengers than stated here.