First commuter rail in Oregon started on 2/2/2009

[WMAveteran]

Published: Thursday, January 29, 2009 (from TRAINS magazine)   

BEAVERTON, Ore. - On Monday, Feb. 2 Oregon's first commuter rail line, the Westside Express Service, will begin hauling passengers. The 14.7-mile route has five stations in Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, and Wilsonville. The trains will use upgraded freight tracks operated by the Portland & Western Railroad that were once owned by the Oregon Electric Railway. Trains will run every 30 minutes during weekday morning and evening rush hours. Ridership is expected to be between 3,000 to 4,000 passengers a day on the $166.2 million line. Westside uses four self-propelled Diesel Multiple Unit cars built by the now-defunct Colorado Railcar. The DMUs have swivel seats, handrails attached to every other chair, free Wi-Fi, and bike hooks. Originally scheduled to open in September 2008, the launch of service was delayed several times due to technical and other difficulties, most notably the failure and bankruptcy of Colorado Railcar. TriMet, the transit agency that runs the service was forced to provide bailout funds to the manufacturer until it could take delivery of its cars. TriMet now has an inventory of spare parts for the cars and subcontractors will build major components, such as engines and transmissions as needed.