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156K views 481 replies 90 participants last post by  aquaticko 
#1 ·
New MAX cars (Portland, OR, USA)

New MAX Trains Coming in 2009
More seats, larger windows and a sleek design


TriMet has ordered 21 new MAX trains from Siemens Transportation Systems for the I-205/Portland Mall MAX Light Rail Project.

The new low-floor trains will have a streamlined look with larger windows and 12 more seats per car (as there is only one operator cab per train). Each car will have 76 seats, versus 64 on our current low-floor MAX. The trains cost about $3.5 million each.

The new trains will go into service when the I-205/Portland Mall light rail lines open in September 2009.

 
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#10 ·
samsonyuen said:
Wow, they look pretty cool. Are all MAX two cars only, or are some three for busier routes/periods? I know the DLR in London is going to add a third (twin) car for its busiest line.
Well... the current siemens cars are also great cars! Siemens is doing a great job here in US!

Max uses a maximum of 2 cars because in city center the blocks are only 200-some feet long, and 3 cars will not be able to fit in a city block.

I do, however think that the one cab per train may have operational difficulties with turning trains around.
 
#11 ·
Palal said:
Well... the current siemens cars are also great cars! Siemens is doing a great job here in US!

Max uses a maximum of 2 cars because in city center the blocks are only 200-some feet long, and 3 cars will not be able to fit in a city block.

I do, however think that the one cab per train may have operational difficulties with turning trains around.
Not if you turn the one at the rear around. ;)

(Cab) Car - connection - Car (Cab).

The cabs in the middle were kind of pointless anyway since most of the sets stayed together permanently with the exception of maintenance or tech difficulties.
 
#12 ·
Mongo8780 said:
Not if you turn the one at the rear around. ;)

(Cab) Car - connection - Car (Cab).

The cabs in the middle were kind of pointless anyway since most of the sets stayed together permanently with the exception of maintenance or tech difficulties.
What I'm saying is that now they've added a new problem of having to turn cars around if they need to uncouple/recouple them. Granted the connection above, which I though they were going to use as well, stays permanent or semi-permanent they should be fine, but they will definately need to build a wye or a turntable in their yards.
 
#15 ·
Very nice cars, when I was a young boy , I wondered when the world would look like the futuristic sets of movies like logan's run and the like , looks like it's here!

Btw who made your old trains and what does portland intend to do with them? The reason I ask is that Manila LRT Authority recently bought some old Viennese trams for like 1$ (basically a donation) and will have the manufacturer refurbish them. They may get interested in those old trains (don't look too bad) as well!
 
#19 ·
samsonyuen said:
Wow, they look pretty cool. Are all MAX two cars only, or are some three for busier routes/periods? I know the DLR in London is going to add a third (twin) car for its busiest line.
apparently they cant add a 3rd because the downtown blocks are designed to be 200 feet long, so that limits them to 2, which is too bad. 3 cars are cool :)
EDIT: wow, I should read more closely. Someone already answered this question earlier up the page haha
 
#21 ·
It's too bad that with the low-floor light rail trains there is no way to string low-floor sections together to make a longer train. The wheels under the central low-floor segment are not powered. Some of the European low-floor street cars have multiple low-floor segments strung together; however, they are designed for lower speeds. The solution used in Portland will provide more room for passengers by eliminating half the cabs; however, it won't be possible to walk between cars.

Dallas lengthened some high-floor trains by adding middle low-floor segments that bridge between the high-floor segments. This type of arrangement could be used to string segments together to make a much longer train; however, there would be high-floor segments in way of each of the bogies.



For more information on the Dallas system, see the following link:

http://world.nycsubway.org/us/dallas/dallas-dart.html
 
#22 ·
Portland Oregon Aerial tram

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of the portland tram so let me tell you about it. It is tram that connects the OHSU (oregon health and science university upper campus to the growing lower campus at the south waterfront. It is a catlyst to the growing south waterfront neighborhood that has grown from unused industrial land to a highrise residential area with towers as high as 325 feet. Despite a rising price tag that has gone up from around 30 million to 57 mil it looks like portland is getting a well-deserved icon in the mold of the space needle of seattle, or the golden-gate bridge in san franscico.
rout:

upper station

central tower

lower station:

future expansion includes a pedestrian bridge over I-5

progress photos (i tried to give everyone credit for their photos if you want credit pm me all the pictures were taken by me unless otherwise noted)
first part of intermediate tower installed

second part




how it looks now

lower station
crow's

pdxstreetcar's

the streetcar is going right between the OHSU building and the lower station crow's

upper station
pdxstreetcar's

pdxstreetcar's



two river's


tram cars



video(pdxman's): http://s128.photobucket.com/albums/p...t=MOV00654.flv
cool pictures i found on flickr
pic of tower lit up at night (not mine)

jarsehgal's



ae's



JandK's


you know its cool if it has a myspace: www.myspace.com/pdxtram
sowa proximity to downtown:

for more on the tram go to the thread in the northwest forum: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=82240
for more on the south waterfront go to: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=90344
or: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=81718
 
#24 ·
the whole point of the project was to transport employees from the oregon health and science university's upper campus to there lower campus at south waterfront. some tourists will probably use it since it will have a awesome view of downtown from the tram and the upper station. but its mainly for OHSU employees
 
#25 ·
OHSU is Portland's largest employer that ran out of room on their campus on the hill for new buildings. The city enticed them to expand on an industrial brownfield at the base of their hill instead of the hundred plus acres they own in the suburbs. OHSU said okay, if the city would help them build a mode of tranportation linking the two campuses, with a maximum travel time, preferably no more than 5 minutes. The city bit, OHSU built their last building on the hill, and than a second building in the South Waterfront district. That in turn has lead OHSU to create 1,000 jobs in their first South Waterfront tower. The hospital and most research space is up on the hill, so when a doc, who has his practice in the SoWa building needed to get up to the hospital, he was looking at a minimum of a 15 minute shuttle ride. The Aerial Tram will have him to the hospital in under 3 minutes.

The streetcar extension to the district, and right next to the tram's lower station, also ties together Portland State Univesity and OHSU allowing better collaboration between the two universities.
 
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