TriMet says third day of MAX closures likely new record; when will service be restored?

TriMet’s light rail system remained closed for a third day Monday, raising the possibility that with another winter storm in the forecast MAX service may not resume until Wednesday. TriMet first suspended light rail service “until further notice” at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday afternoon as snow, wind and freezing temperatures walloped the Portland metro region.

As of Monday afternoon, the transit agency still didn’t have an estimated time for resuming service. More bad weather is on tap Tuesday: an ice storm is forecast to layer the Portland area in up to a half inch of ice. TriMet spokesperson Roberta Altstadt said the agency wasn’t prepared to speculate on how long trains could remain suspended.

She said crews are “actively working” to restore MAX service before the freezing rain starts on Tuesday but didn’t know yet if that would happen. She said if crews are able to get MAX trains running, it’s possible they could continue to operate through the freezing rain — but only if there aren’t power outages.

One or two day shutdowns due to weather have not been uncommon for MAX trains, But Altstadt said the agency believes this is the longest suspension of MAX services. Some of the biggest problem areas have been on the west side, between the Sunset and Beaverton transit centers. “While we’ve learned from past storms and trim trees along the trackway, the high winds with this storm brought whole trees down and caused extensive damage to our overhead wire and support equipment,” Altstadt said in an email.

She said large power outages also affected MAX substations that power the overhead wires and heaters on track switches. Without those heaters, she said, the cold freezes the track switches. Altstadt said crews have been working around the clock to clear tracks and fix damaged equipment. Crews are also trying to clear ice that’s packed onto the rails — not doing so can lead to trains derailing, as one did during the January 2017 winter storm, Altstadt said.

Some Portland area residents may have seen a MAX train running Monday, a different spokesperson, Tyler Graf, said. But those trains are being used to test the system and are not yet taking riders. Buses continue to run on Sunday schedules through Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but TriMet told passengers they should also expect long delays for that service, as some lines remain on weather related detours.

Buses are also using chains, which limit their speeds to 25 miles per hour. Riders should check for updates and the agency is encouraging people to avoid traveling until after Tuesday’s storm. —Jayati Ramakrishnan;.