Yesterday I had a chance to preview the upcoming WES operations with a ride and a reception with a tour of the shops in Wilsonville as the moderator mentioned.
The equipment is great. The basic cars were built by Colorado Railcar Manufacturing and sent to Oregon for finishing by Tri-Met. (That is another story itself I won't get into here.) They are nicer than the MAX cars and certainly better than any bus in Tri-Met's fleet. They have upholstered, reclining seats and wireless Internet access. What's curiously missing, however, are handles for standing passengers. If these trains turn out to be a hit there may be passengers literally with nothing to hold on to.
There are five stations along the line, three are transit centers and provide connections with local bus service, Tri-Met in Beaverton and Tigard and SMART in Wilsonville. Each is shoehorned into the available space. To get to the Beaverton Transit Center a spur was built up Lombard Avenue. This provides some great photographic opportunities.
There was already talk at the reception of service expansions. One speaker discussed an extension to Salem, the state capital, while another talked about offering service throughout the day. Some off-the-record scuttlebutt indicated that more cars may be acquired in the future and service on other routes is being studied.
~BS
mmmmm pie!
