MAX Orange Line (TriMet)

MAX Orange Line
An Orange Line train on Tilikum Crossing
Overview
Other name(s)Portland–Milwaukie Light Rail Project (PMLR)
OwnerTriMet
LocalePortland, Oregon, U.S.
Termini
Stations17
WebsiteMAX Orange Line
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemMAX Light Rail
Operator(s)TriMet
Daily ridership5,680 (Weekday, December 2024)
History
OpenedSeptember 12, 2015 (2015-09-12)
Technical
Line length7.3 mi (11.7 km)
Number of tracks2
CharacterAt-grade and elevated
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 750 V DC
Maximum incline6.86%
Route diagram

Portland Transit Mall (NW Glisan St)
 
Most southbound Yellow Line
trains become Orange Line
 
Union Station/NW 5th & Glisan
Union Station/NW 6th & Hoyt
NW 5th & Couch
NW 6th & Davis
SW 5th & Oak
SW 6th & Pine
Eastside MAX (SW Morrison St)
Pioneer Place/SW 5th
Pioneer Courthouse/SW 6th
Eastside MAX (SW Yamhill St)
City Hall/SW 5th & Jefferson
SW 6th & Madison
B NS (SW Market St)
PSU Urban Center/SW 5th & Mill
A NS (SW Mill St/SW Montgomery St)
PSU Urban Center/SW 6th & Montgomery
PSU South/SW 5th & Jackson
PSU South/SW 6th & College
Terminus
Most northbound Orange Line
trains become Yellow Line
Lincoln St/SW 3rd Ave
NS (SW Moody Ave)
South Waterfront/S Moody
OMSI/SE Water
A B
Clinton St/SE 12th Ave
SE 17th Ave & Rhine St
SE 17th Ave & Holgate Blvd
SE Harold (planned)
SE Bybee Blvd
SE Tacoma/Johnson Creek
Milwaukie/Main St
SE Park Ave

The MAX Orange Line is a light rail line serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Operated by TriMet as part of MAX Light Rail, it connects Portland City Center, Portland State University (PSU), Southeast Portland, Milwaukie, and Oak Grove. The line serves 17 stations and runs for 2012 hours per day with headways of up to 15 minutes. It averaged 5,680 daily weekday riders in December 2024.

The Orange Line runs north–south. Its route begins near Portland Union Station on the northern end of the Portland Transit Mall in downtown Portland. Within the transit mall on 5th Avenue, the Orange Line operates as a southbound through service of the Yellow Line from Union Station/NW 5th & Glisan station, where it interlines with the Green Line. Northbound on 6th Avenue, the Orange Line continues through to the Yellow Line from PSU South/SW 6th and College station. South of the transit mall, the Orange Line operates bidirectionally and terminates at SE Park Ave station in Oak Grove, just outside Milwaukie proper in unincorporated Clackamas County.

The Portland–Milwaukie Light Rail Project (PMLR) began construction in 2011 following decades of failed light rail plans for the McLoughlin Boulevard corridor. The ten-station, 7.3-mile (11.7 km) extension was the second and final phase of the South Corridor Transportation Project, which expanded light rail to Interstate 205 (I-205) and the Portland Transit Mall in its first phase. As part of the PMLR project, TriMet built Tilikum Crossing, the largest "car-free" bridge in the United States, over the Willamette River. Orange Line service commenced on September 12, 2015.