# TriMet wants to buy used trains from Dallas to bolster WES service



## fairviewroad (May 25, 2016)

Portland's Tri-Met wants to buy additional equipment for its little-used WES commuter train. No plans to add frequencies at the moment. They just want to have more train sets on standby. :wacko:

The only times I've ridden WES, the entire passenger load could easily fit in a single transit bus. A suburb-to-suburb, low-frequency commuter train just isn't drawing a lot of riders, surprisingly. :huh:

http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2016/05/trimet_wants_to_buy_used_train.html


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## jis (May 25, 2016)

They could potentially start Portland to Vancouver WA commuter service too, though currently not on the cards AFAIR.


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## neroden (Jun 2, 2016)

The manufacturer of the existing WES trainsets went bankrupt while they were manufacturing them, if I remember correctly, so spare parts are not going to be easy to find. It makes sense to supplement their fleet with something more... repairable.


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## Palmetto (Jun 2, 2016)

jis said:


> They could potentially start Portland to Vancouver WA commuter service too, though currently not on the cards AFAIR.


Vancouver's C-Tran express bus between downtown Portland and downtown Vancouver already covers the route quite well, I think. They run all day, and very frequently during rush hours.


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## jis (Jun 3, 2016)

Palmetto said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > They could potentially start Portland to Vancouver WA commuter service too, though currently not on the cards AFAIR.
> ...


That argument could be used for not building or running many rail commuter and light rail routes


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## Palmetto (Jun 4, 2016)

jis said:


> Palmetto said:
> 
> 
> > jis said:
> ...


No doubt about that. But I'd rather use any future funds to bolster existing service up there and in other locales, not duplicating an existing service that is quite adequate.


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## rickycourtney (Jun 5, 2016)

fairviewroad said:


> Portland's Tri-Met wants to buy additional equipment for its little-used WES commuter train. No plans to add frequencies at the moment. They just want to have more train sets on standby. :wacko:
> 
> The only times I've ridden WES, the entire passenger load could easily fit in a single transit bus. A suburb-to-suburb, low-frequency commuter train just isn't drawing a lot of riders, surprisingly. :huh:
> 
> http://www.oregonlive.com/commuting/index.ssf/2016/05/trimet_wants_to_buy_used_train.html


WES has been disappointing.

It cost $166 million to build a line so that 1,800 people a day can take a "choo-choo" to work... at a cost to taxpayers of $15 per person, per day. To boot, clearly the passenger experience isn't that great, since ridership continues to slip.

I've got no problem spending money on high capacity transit... but only when it's effective.

There are other projects that cost about that much and serve many more people (the proposed BRT project on Powell-Division to name one).



Palmetto said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > They could potentially start Portland to Vancouver WA commuter service too, though currently not on the cards AFAIR.
> ...


The major benefit would be that trains don't have to sit in the awful traffic on the Interstate bridge.

Commuter rail is a less than ideal solution for a number of reasons... what makes a lot more since would be to extend the MAX Yellow Line across the Columbia River to downtown Vancouver. It's an idea that's been floated several times and came very close to happening... but building a new bridge over the Columbia River is a very expensive and politically challenging.


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## Palmetto (Jun 5, 2016)

Extending the Yellow Line does make sense, philosophically, But as you pointed out, financing the extension is problematic. I don't see heavy rail between the two cities as a viable solution. And I wonder what BNSF would think about THAT!


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