Portland and Western Railroad - Commuter Rail

Commuter Rail

In 2007-2008, the PNWR line between Beaverton, Oregon and Wilsonville, Oregon was purchased by Washington County, Oregon and TriMet, and subsequently upgraded for use by commuter trains to be operated under the Westside Express Service, or WES, operating moniker.

Upgrades to the route included a new roadbed, ballast, ties and rail to accommodate passenger train speeds of 60 MPH and freight train speeds of 40 MPH, Centralized Traffic Control signaling, Automatic Train Stop at control points, new sidings, station platforms at the end points along with in Tigard, Oregon and Tualatin, Oregon, as well as a station in the Progress/Washington Square area near the Beaverton/Tigard city line, and a maintenance shop located in Wilsonville (staffed by TriMet employees). PNWR will be responsible for train operations, including staffing the trains with an Engineer and Conductor, dispatching, and maintenance. TriMet will have a Manager to oversee the service and will handle basic maintenance of the fleet.

The service had been expected to launch as early as August 2008 but due to delays by the car manufacturer, Colorado Railcar, the actual start of service date was February 2, 2009. Four Colorado Railcar DMUs will be used, three of which are powered vehicles and can move on their own, and a fourth vehicle which is a trailer to be towed behind one of the three powered cars. The vehicles are of the Aero DMU design featuring a styled cab at one end, however the trains will operate in both directions without turning the vehicle around at the end of the route and thus will operate "backwards" much of the time. The vehicles are equipped with two doors per vehicle side, plush leather seats, four bicycle racks, air conditioning, and free wireless internet access. The vehicles are owned by TriMet and are painted in TriMet's scheme similar to its buses and MAX light rail vehicles.

Fares will be handled off-board using ticket-vending machines at each stop, which will not allow for cash fares but only the use of a credit or debit card. Cash passengers will have the option in Tigard and Beaverton to first board a bus at the transit center to pay for cash and obtain a transfer which will be valid on the train; in Tualatin, Hall/Nimbus bus service will be infrequent to accommodate this, and TriMet does not serve Wilsonville and thus a passenger in Wilsonville wanting to pay a cash fare will simply not be permitted to board.