Semi truck hits MAX train in North Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. – It's been a long day for TriMet's MAX light rail line.
A semi truck collided with a MAX train Wednesday afternoon in North Portland shortly after another MAX train was disabled downtown when a rope became tangled in electrical equipment on the roof of the train.
No injuries were reported after the crash with the semi, a Portland Fire and Rescue spokesperson said. Both incidents caused service delays for MAX users.
The collision took place just after 12:30 p.m. on the MAX Yellow line near the intersection of North Interstate Avenue and Knott Street.
There was no major damage to either vehicle but the front two wheels of the train did derail.
The truck driver said there were no leaks or hazards from the truck. A witness on the train said the train operator tried to brake to avoid hitting the truck but could not stop in time.
Earlier, a MAX train became entangled with a rope being used by window washers in the Old Town section of Portland. The electrical contact on top of the train was destroyed, TriMet said. Service downtown was restored at about 2:30 p.m.
A Portland Fire spokesperson said it may take a while to move the semi and restore MAX service.
MAX Yellow Line: "TransitTracker isn't reporting accurate real-time arrival information for MAX and will display scheduled times due to damage to a MAX signal caused by an auto crash October 4."
trimet.org
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no, its not a good month for Portland's light rail!
I saw the whole thing happen the semi actually was making a RH turn off on Knott St. onto Interstate and crossed into the tracks right in front of the MET. then Bang a puff of smoke and that was it
So use the old buses. Better routes. Faster. Much less cost to the taxpayer. Less destruction and loss of private property and small businesses. Much less crime expansion.
This was the "Tragedy" the  Blue Line operator said happened today? *sigh*
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All the crossings that I see on the West side of town have those crossing gates, Do they not have them every where?Â
Oops!
First a cyclists hits the train, Now a Truck, Are people just flat blind? Actually in some ways yes they are. BNSF has been placing side stickers on there cars for this very reason. MAX time to get some stickers stuck on ya.
So if we had a 3rd event today, would that make it a record breaking max attack day?
Finally - something with a fighting chance takes on a Max train. Â But still loses. Â Make it a dumper full of 3/4 minus next time or a fully loaded mixer and let's try it again.
The headline..Semi Truck hits Max Train.. the story..A witness on the train said the train operator tried to brake to avoid hitting the truck but could not stop in time.So..its a who done it kind of deal..Ok...curiosity is killing me here,,Who REALLY is at FAULT?
 @Whitehawk Eh trains always have the right-of-way. The reason being is they can not lock there wheels, if they do then it creates a flat spot, that flat spot can de-rail a train,. Not to mention even if it is a mild flat spot they have to replace the wheel. and they would have to even possibly replace the tracks.
 @Whitehawk Consider. The train was on its tracks (until the truck knocked it off). The roadway is separate from the Max track. There is a line and a gravel area between the lane the truck should have been in and the track the train was on (I'm assuming the train didn't leave the track to go after the truck.) So, the question of curiosity really doesn't come into play. The truck should have made the turn in the roadway. Driver could even have waited for the train to pass - not that truck drivers wait for much of anything.
Nor bikes, nor pedestrians, nor cars. The fact is that there is plenty of impatience around here. I don't think truckers have a stranglehold on it.
 @OSUx2 I must agree and apologize for blaming it just on them. You would think I was running for office or something.
Buses.  and when the max doesn't work we use buses!
One bus goes out of action... oh well wait for the next one.
Take out one max..... oh yeah wait while they bring in the backup buses.
MAX.. oh you look so pretty ... shame you're slower than every bus route you've replaced.
 @Dave yes but more profit in building max rails.
Per the story, the train hit the truck.....which happened to be in the way! So I guess the headline is correct although a bit deceptive.
Amazing all the dbags on here blaming MAX!! Stupid.
Not sure why everyone is bashing the Max train. Oh, wait. I see. The train swerved and hit the truck. That must be it.
Portland shoulda built a subway. Wouldn't interfere with vehicles, pedestrians and most of all, attentive law-abiding bike riders. LOL
 @jpk yeah but wouldn't that have tripled the price tag which was already pretty outrageous...
Wasn't the price tag already tripled, even though it was above ground? By the time they get around to building it, prices go up. On the other hand, if it were underground, it wouldn't have to slow down just because there is ice, or rain, on the tracks. Not that it ever freezes in Portland! LOL
Coulda used sewer funds to help build a subway, LOL
 @jpk I am not sure but I believe: communities which have subways do not have the rainfall and ground water we have. We all know electricity and water do not blend well.
Miracles of engineering tho ... if someone had wanted subways, we would have had them.
Timing in life is EVERYTHING ! Â Another 3 seconds with the train or truck and this could have been a HUGE disaster...
Lets get rid of the max line...it is a waste of money.
 @sortbait Only to the likes of you. for the rest of us who don't have cars, it's the way to get to work. Try it sometime.
 @No_Conservitards  @sortbait I would love to be able to take it except for the 30 minute walk to the nearest bus station to get a ride to the max line
followed by a 20-30 minute ride and then a 15 minute walk to work. If you include the waiting time and all of these transfers it would eat up about 4 to 5 hours of my day when I can make the drive-in under 20 minutes even during heavy traffic times.
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It's so ridiculously out of line with reality that I could walk the 8-9 miles faster than I could get there via public transportation and bike it in1/3 the time.
@FreedomRocks @No_Conservitards @sortbait Paris uses a lotmore moter bikes and they are cheaper then MAX
 @iamright555  @FreedomRocks  @No_Conservitards  @sortbait Maybe you're confusing riders with boardings.  MAX has over 120,000 boardings each and every weekday. Â
 @Festivus  @FreedomRocks  @No_Conservitards  @sortbait BS number of rides.. every transfer is another ride.
 @FreedomRocks  @No_Conservitards  @sortbait Clearly that isn't the whole story, otherwise the New York subway system would go unused. Â
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People still live away from where they work, and will always have a commute of some sort - even in the highest density areas. Â If you actually lived in Paris instead of visited, you'd likely live somewhere away from the commercial center and ride the train to work every day. Â
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Max isn't as convenient, but it still seems to make enough sense to enough commuters to get over 30,000 rides a day. Â
 @No_Conservitards  @sortbait Forgot to add that public transportation by train really only makes sense when you cram the density of the people into such a small area that they really don't even need the public transportation because they can walk everywhere.
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Having been to Paris numerous times it is nice to be able to hop on the train and go to 8 blocks but even there the reality is you can walk everywhere you pretty much want to go Because they crammed everybody into such a tight area.
Abother reason to NOT like light rail.
Poor ol' MAX..! Â First it gets lasso'd by a window-washer's rope... then another train gets smacked by a semi..! Â
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And it's only Wednesday..! Â Â
 @margay1 eh your forgot the bicyclists that ran into the thing. It just has not been Max's year
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"It's been a long day for TriMet's MAX light rail line"- you mean they actually had to do work! Amazing.