The TriMet transit system, serving the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, owns and operates two different rail transit systems: a light rail system known as MAX, and a commuter rail system known as WES. The fleet of approximately 150 MAX electric light rail vehicles (LRVs) has included four different models, designated by TriMet as "Type 1" through "Type 6", with all but Type 1 still in use. All types are used on all of the MAX lines. The comparatively very small WES fleet includes three different types of diesel commuter rail cars.
Light rail fleet
+ Current fleet Image TriMetdesignation Car numbers Manufacturer Model First used No. of seats/overall capacity Quantity Notes Type 2 201–252 Siemens SD660 1997 64/166 52 Most LRVs were given a new paint-scheme wrap in 2024. Nos. 215, 231, and 241 were overhauled and repainted. Type 3 301–327 2003 64/166 27 Most LRVs received a wrap in the new paint scheme. No. 315 was overhauled. Type 4 401–422 S70 2009 68/172 22Single-ended. Must be run in two-car sets. Type 5 521–538 S700 2015 72/186 18Single-ended. Must be run in two-car sets. Type 6 601–630 S700 2025 62/16830First two cars entered service on January 16, 2025. Are only able to couple to other Type 6 cars. On order Type 6 (631–682) Siemens S700 (2029–2031) 62/168 52 Order placed March 2026, for eventual replacement of all Type 2 LRVs.
+ Retired fleet Image TriMetdesignation Car numbers Manufacturer First used No. of seats/overall capacity Last used Quantity Notes Type 1 101–126 Bombardier 1986 76/166 2026 26 Built between 1983 and 1986, but all 26 entered service in 1986, when the MAX system opened. Three cars (102, 103, and 116) never received the body overhaul and remained in the original paint scheme until retired. No. 101 is preserved at the Oregon Electric Railway Museum.
Notes on capacities: The capacities given are for a single car; a two-car train has double the capacity. The Type 2 cars originally had 72 seats, but eight seats were later removed, to make space for bicycles. All of these capacity figures are based on "normal" loading conditions (defined as 4 standing passengers per square meter by industry standards); under so-called "crush" loading conditions (6-8 standees per m2), all of these cars are capable of carrying many more passengers than stated here.
Type 1
The Type 1 cars were manufactured by a joint venture between Bombardier Corporation and La Brugeoise et Nivelles (BN; Bombardier would later acquire the company) and featured a raised floor with steps at the doors. TriMet had hoped that American firm Budd Corporation would bid on the contract, but the company backed out at the last minute. TriMet announced it would purchase an additional seven vehicles in August 1983, but a budget shortfall forced the agency to withdraw this proposal the following November. The cars were built, with some modifications for Portland, to a BN design that had previously been usedunder license by Brazilian manufacturer Cobrasma(PT)for 68 rail cars for Rio de Janeiro. The electrical propulsion equipment was supplied by Brown, Boveri & Company. Bombardier built the frames in Quebec, but its factory in Barre, Vermont, manufactured the majority of each car, with 80 percent of the production and assembly taking place in Barre. The first vehicle was completed at the factory in late 1983, and two cars were sent to the federal government's Transportation Test Center in Colorado for testing in the last weeks of that year. The first car arrived in Portland in 1984. The Type 1 cars were the only light rail cars in TriMet's fleet that lacked regenerative braking capability.
The Type 1 cars were delivered without air-conditioning, but it was added to all cars during a retrofit in 1997–98. These cars were originally equipped with stop-request bell cords (as are commonly found on American transit buses), which passengers needed to pull to signal the operator that they wanted to get off at the next stop, similar to a typical bus or some streetcars. As ridership increased, the stop request feature was relegated to certain lighter used stations during periods of lighter traffic. Finally, in 1994, the bell cords were removed after TriMet adopted an operating practice of having MAX trains stop at every station at all times. The bodies of the Type 1 vehicles included cutaway areas by each truck, for maintenance access. In 1995, TriMet began installing wheel skirts to cover these, to reduce noise, and said that these would be included on all LRVs purchased in the future.
For their first 30 years (until 2016) the Type 1 cars had roll-type, printed destination signs. The Type 1 cars were the only MAX cars whose rollsigns were hand-cranked. Because of the time-consuming process to change the signs, only the sign on the exposed end of the car in a two-car train was changed to the correct destination. After the 2001 opening of the Red Line, the side signs only listed the designated route color (such as "Blue Line") rather than a destination, and the sign on the coupled end of each car in a two-car train was left blank. A two-year program that began in October 2014Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, March 2015, p. 121. UK: LRTA Publishing. and was completed in September 2016 gradually replaced all of the rollsigns in the Type 1 cars (as well as those in the Types 2 and 3) with digital, LED-type destination signs.Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, November 2016, p. 440. UK: LRTA Publishing.
Starting in 2003, TriMet began a program to refurbish the bodies of the Type 1 cars, carried out by its own employees. Known as the Body Overhaul program, it included extensive body renovation, replacement of all windows, repainting into the new paint scheme the agency adopted in 2002, and minor interior refurbishment, but not any work on the cars' mechanical or propulsion equipment. The program proceeded at a slower pace than originally anticipated because of staffing issues, with only two cars being worked on at a time, and each taking one to two years. By 2018, when only 23 of the 26 cars had been completed, TriMet had terminated the program because, by that time, the Type 1 fleet was only a few years away from retirement. The last overhauled car, No. 112, returned to service in April 2018. The three cars that never received the body overhaul and repainting were Nos. 102, 103 and 116.
In February 2018, TriMet announced its intention to purchase replacements for all 26 Type 1 cars. In July 2019, TriMet did place such an order, for 26 new cars which it designated Type 6 (see below).
Retirement began in October 2023, when car 102, one of the three which was never refurbished, was retired following the delivery of the first several new Type 6 cars. In June 2025, TriMet donated car 101 to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum and held a farewell event on July 8 at its Ruby Junction yard, where contest winners viewed the car before its planned move to the museum.
The Type 1 series was officially retired in April 2026, with the last day of service being April 2 (when only car 113 operated in service) and a special farewell event taking place on April 18. In July 2026, car 122 was moved to North Portland to be retrofitted by an organization named AfroVillage as a community outreach center, on which started construction in September 2026.
Type 2
With the partial opening of Westside MAX in 1997, TriMet's "Type 2" light rail vehicles were introduced. The Siemens model SD660 (originally SD600, but retroactively redesignated SD660 in 1998) have a low-floor design, a first for light rail vehicles in North America,Oliver, Gordon (April 15, 1993). "Tri-Met prepares to purchase 37 low-floor light-rail cars". The Oregonian, p. D4. digital next-station reader boards and a slightly more open floor plan. The floor is nearly level with the platforms, and small ramps called "bridge plates" extend (on request) from two of the four doors, enabling passengers in wheelchairs to roll on and off of the vehicle easily. These permitted the elimination of wheelchair lifts that had been located at every station and were time-consuming to use. From 1997 until their retirement, high-floor Type 1 cars were always paired with a low-floor Type 2 or 3 car so that each train was wheelchair-accessible.
The first low-floor light rail vehicle was delivered in 1996 and first used in service on August 31, 1997. The new vehicles also came equipped with air-conditioning, a feature originally lacking from the Type 1 vehicles. The initial order of 39 Type 2 vehicles was expanded, in stages, to a total of 52 vehicles.
Some of the later models of light rail vehicles had automatic passenger counters retrofitted; in these models, they are on the floor of the doorways.
In 2001–02, TriMet modified the interior of the Type 2 cars to add space for bicycles. Eight seats per vehicle were removed and replaced—in four places per car—with hooks from which a bicycle can be hung.Stewart, Bill (August 20, 2001). "MAX will add racks for bikes, not bags". The Oregonian. All later cars have been delivered from the manufacturer with these bike hooks already installed. In 2014–2016, the rollsign-type destination signs in these cars and the almost-identical Type 3 cars were gradually replaced with digital signs in a two-year conversion program.
Type 3
The second series of Siemens SD660 cars, TriMet's "Type 3" MAX light rail vehicle, are outwardly identical to the Type 2 cars in design, the primary difference being various technical upgrades. Siemens installed an improved air-conditioning system, more ergonomic seats and automatic passenger counters using photoelectric sensors above the doorways. The Type 3 cars were the first to wear the transit agency's newer (2002-adopted) paint scheme. Purchased for the opening of the Yellow Line in May 2004, delivery of the Type 3 series began in February 2003, and the vehicles began to enter service in September 2003.Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, November 2003, p. 428. UK: Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association.
Type 4
Twenty-two new Siemens S70 low-floor cars, designated Type 4, were purchased in conjunction with the I-205 and Portland Mall MAX projects. They feature a more streamlined design than previous models, have more seating and are lighter in weight and therefore more energy-efficient. They can only operate in pairs, since each car has just one operator's cab, at the "A" end (the "B" end has additional passenger seating). At about long, they are about three feet longer than Type 2 and Type 3 cars, which were . The Type 4 MAX cars began to enter service in August 2009.
The Type 4 cars were the first to use LED-type destination signs. On the rollsign-type destination signs useduntil 2016on the Type 1, 2 and 3 cars the designated route color (blue, green, red, or yellow) was shown as a colored background under white or black text, while in the LED signs the route color is indicated by a colored square at the left end of the display, and all text is orange lettering against a black background. In October 2014, TriMet began a two-year program to gradually replace all rollsigns in its MAX fleet with LED signs, affecting a total of 105 cars (and four signs per car). The conversion program was completed in September 2016 (with the last use of a rollsign in service being on August 19).
Type 5