Officials said the train wasn't involved in a collision and no one was injured in the derailment. They said an out-of-alignment switch caused the train's front wheels to lift slightly off the track, halting it.
Service was interrupted from the Rose Quarter to PGE Park and commuters were shuttled between locations using buses.
By 9 p.m., MAX trains were moving again in both directions through downtown Portland.
Crews removed the train from the track and performed a thorough inspection before resuming service, according to TriMet spokeswoman Bekki Witt.
At 4:30 p.m. when I got the e-mail from TriMet at work about the derailed MAX train, I knew my 18 bus would be making a detour, especially when I read that the southbound streetcar was not running either. We always turn south on SW 11th and cross Morrison on our way to Taylor where we turn west. As we made our way across downtown, our driver told me he had already made the route once, so we would be turning onto SW 13th instead of SW 11th and then onto SW Taylor, like always.
I took photos from the 18 as we made our way.
There's the southbound streetcar, with its sign reading "Please Go Around."
The yellow streetcar sign now says, "Streetcar disabled."
The two-car train blocks all of SW 11th which is a southbound, one-way street. The train itself is on SW Morrison.
Looking east on SW Morrison, there's the derailed MAX train. It's evident that it's off the tracks, sort of crooked to the left. See the shuttle bus in the distance?
Here's a quick shot of some of the folks who usually ride the MAX from work. I think this is SW Taylor, the street where they're walking.
That's an eastbound shuttle headed towards the Rose Quarter, eventually. It's turn left off SW 18th onto SW Salmon. My 18 turns right at the intersection. We pass the King's Hill MAX stop before coming to the PGE Park stops, one eastbound, one westbound, separated by a triangle-shaped block and the building that sits on it.
Here's a row of buses standing, waiting exactly where the MAX train usually waits for passengers to board, at the PGE MAX westbound stop.
Alternative transportation?
Another shot of commuters boarding a shuttle bus for the trip from PGE Park to the Rose Quarter. I wonder if they stop at all sorts of bus stops along the way, since the MAX stops here and there regularly.
