Oregon rail system grows as new lines crop up

[depakid]

Better late than never....

With two new lines nearing completion, the Portland-area's rail system will add 23 miles of track and grow by 50 percent in the next year and a half.

The Westside Express Service commuter rail line will open this fall, connecting Wilsonville and Beaverton. A year later, the MAX Green Line will connect Clackamas Town Center to the Gateway area and a new north-south transit mall in downtown Portland.

"In a year and a half we will have opened the first commuter rail in the state of Oregon and opened our first line into Clackamas County," said Mary Fetsch, TriMet's communications manager. "That's big."

The new lines mark a turning point in the region's 22-year relationship with rail transit. Commuter trains and streetcars will become more common --not just the familiar MAX lines used for commuting. Riders will be able to transfer more easily from one train to another, as in big cities where rail has been used for generations.

The lines under construction could transform surrounding neighborhoods. For Portland State University, the transit mall extension will open in the section of downtown where the university plans to focus its growth.

"It's just a monumental event for Portland State," said Lindsay Desrochers, PSU's vice president for finance and administration. "It's harder and harder to bring cars downtown. We really don't want that many cars downtown."

More: http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2008/04/rail_system_grows_as_new_lines.html

[panader0]

1. I used to jump the freights in Salem and ride to Portland or all the way to Seattle in'68

God, that was fun. Me and my buddies would hide in the trees outside the train yard and wait until they started going and then run and throw our backpacks in an empty car and ride like kings through the countryside, legs dangling out the open boxcar door, puffing on a reefer. Jack Keruoac was my hero then, Barack Obama is now.

[depakid]

3. Obama does support rail transportation

Kind of a no-brainer, though seeing as how he's represent the Chicago area.

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/additional/Obama_FactSheet_Transportation.pdf

BTW: what little Oregon has pales in comparison to the CTA (although in Portland you can bring your bike on board even during peak hours).

[grasswire]

2. good news

I didn't even know about the Wilsonville Beaverton line.

[depakid]

4. Check it out:

http://trimet.org/commuterrail/

[hogwyld]

5. If they would bring it down to Yamhill county

I'd ditch the car in a heartbeat.