TriMet’s A Better Red MAX Extension and Reliability Project facing 126-day disruption starting June 18

TriMet is nearing the start of a 126-day disruption to the MAX Red Line beginning on June 18. No MAX trains will run between Gateway Transit Center and Portland International Airport for four months, the longest planned MAX disruption in TriMet’s history.

Shuttle buses will run the duration of the disruption, June 18 to Oct. 21, to match normal weekday and weekend MAX Red Line schedules, arriving and departing about every 15 minutes. Red Line trains will continue running west of the Gateway Transit Center during the duration of the project.

This phase of the project is the most extensive yet for the A Better Red MAX Extension and Reliability Improvements Project. Crews will completely remodel the Portland International Airport MAX Station and build a two-thirds mile long second track near PDX, as well as perform nearly 20 other upgrade and maintenance projects in the closed section between the Gateway Transit Center and the airport, including repairs, inspections and equipment installations to graffiti removal, rail welding and replacement.

A multi-year project scheduled for completion next year and fully open to the public in fall 2024, A Better Red is now more than 65 percent completed.