TriMet Introduces Type 6 MAX Trains

TriMet, Portland, OR, has introduced its new Type 6 MAX light rail trains from Siemens. In total, 30 new vehicles will enter service in the months ahead, operating on all five MAX lines.

On the outside, the newest MAX trains look similar to the agency’s last generation of vehicles, the Type 5, introduced in 2015 when the MAX Orange Line opened. They are the same length, 96 feet, 11 inches, and the same width, eight feet, eight inches. Inside, though, they are very different.

The new trains feature digital destination displays on the ceiling, enhanced by graphics and video. New LED lights around the doors indicate boarding and alighting. The lights display in green when a door is ready for use, red when it is closed and cannot be used, and flash yellow when operating to provide better visual aids for riders. Improved temperature controls help the trains stay cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

Predictive maintenance improves reliability. Sensors in the trains communicate digitally with TriMet’s maintenance teams, providing enhanced information to troubleshoot and solve issues before they occur. Onboard security cameras provide clearer pictures and feature wireless data for remote downloading of footage.

Introduction of the Type 6 means the first-generation MAX trains will retire, having operated across the MAX system since 1986, a 39-year period where some of the trains have surpassed two million miles. TriMet plans to donate one of the Type 1 trains to the Oregon Electric Railway Museum in Brooks.