Red Line (thing)

More on TriMet's Red Line in Portland, Oregon:

The MAX Red Line light rail runs on the same tracks as the Blue Line from the Galleria/SW 10th Avenue/Library/SW 9th Avenue stations in downtown Portland to the Gateway Transit Center/NW 99th Avenue station. It then turns north and follows the I-205 median, which was originally intended for transit purposes, for about 4 kilometers. It then turns to a northwesterly direction and runs through the PDX airport complex for the remainder of the 8.8 kilometer extension. It runs first on newly developed land south of Airport Way, then along Airport Way until it reaches its terminus at the south end of the PDX terminal. Transit time between the airport and downtown is 38 minutes. Frequency is every 15 minutes from 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Trains on the Red Line will consist of one low floor car, though trains may become longer if ridership increases.

The Red Line was built not only to provide a link for travellers and employees to get to the airport, but also to spur development at CascadeStation, a high-density transit-oriented development. CascadeStation will be a complex of hotels, retail, office space, and parks, and will employ an estimated 10,000 by 2015. The development will have the Cascades light-rail station at one end, and the Mount Hood Avenue station at the other.

The Red Line airport extension was first approved by a public review committee in September 1998 and began construction in June 1999. It opened on September 10, 2001, one day before airports nationwide were shut down for several days due to terrorism. On its second day of operation, the Red Line proved very useful in the evacuation of the airport, delivering stranded travellers to downtown hotels and workless workers to their homes. However, the September 16, 2001 opening celebration was cancelled.

The MAX Red Line extension was funded without increased property taxes or federal transportation dollars (though the all-local funding of the line was used in creative accounting to get additional "retroactive" federal funds for the Yellow Line and the Portland Streetcar). Funding sources include $28.3 million from the Port of Portland, $45.5 million from TriMet, $23.0 million from the City of Portland, and $28.2 million from the Cascade Station development company. The total construction cost comes to $125 million. Other development costs, new rail cars, &c. bring the total cost to $180 million.

Following the completion of the Red Line, the Airport was moved from zone 2 to zone 3 to improve continuity along the line, as Gateway Transit Center was and is in zone 3.

Stops on the Red Line, from airport to downtown:

• zone 3
  • Portland International Airport
  • Mount Hood Avenue
  • Cascades (Opening 2002)
  • Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center
  • Gateway Transit Center/Northeast 99th Avenue (Transfer point for Blue Line to Gresham, first transfer opportunity for Blue Line to Beaverton and Hillsboro)
• Zone 2
  • NE 82nd Avenue
  • NE 60th Avenue
  • Hollywood Transit Center/NE 42nd Avenue
• Fareless Square
  • Lloyd Center/NE 11th Avenue
  • NE 7th Avenue
  • Convention Center
  • Rose Quarter Transit Center (Transfer point to Yellow Line to North Portland for eastbound passengers, upon 2004 opening of Yellow Line; transfer point for busses to North and Northeast portland)
  • Old Town/Chinatown
  • Skidmore Fountain
  • Oak/SW 1st Avenue
    • westbound-only stations
      • Morrison/SW 3rd Avenue
      • Mall/SW 5th Avenue (Transfer point for many busses along the downtown Bus Mall)
      • Pioneer Square North
      • Galleria/SW 10th Ave (Last transfer opportunity to Blue Line to Beaverton and Hillsboro
    • eastbound-only stations, listed east to west
      • Yamhill District
      • Mall/SW 4th Avenue (Transfer point for many busses along the downtown Bus Mall)
      • Pioneer Square South
      • Library/SW 9th Avenue

Much information from http://www.trimet.org/