The Westside Express Service (WES) is a commuter rail line serving parts of the Portland metropolitan area's Washington and Clackamas counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned by TriMet and operated by the Portland & Western Railroad (P&W), it travels between Beaverton and Wilsonville along a route just west of Oregon Highway 217 (OR 217) and Interstate 5 (I-5). The line serves five stations and connects with MAX Light Rail at Beaverton Transit Center. Service operates on a 45-minute headway on weekdays during the morning and evening rush hours. In spring 2022, WES saw a daily ridership of 420 passengers or about 109,000 riders annually.
Local officials in Washington County began studying the feasibility of an intercity commuter rail service in 1996, and the Washington County Commuter Rail Project acquired approval from affected jurisdictions in 2002. Construction commenced in 2006 and it opened on February 2, 2009. From the start of the first serious discussions of the idea, it took thirteen years and $166 million to get WES operational.
History Background
The route presently used by WES consists of two historically separate railroads. The segment between Greton (near Tigard) and Wilsonville was originally built by the Oregon Electric Railway in 1908; at Greton the line continued northeasterly to Portland, a route that was abandoned in the mid-1930s. The Oregon Electric stopped running passenger trains in the late 1930s and soon after switched to diesel locomotives, continuing to run freight trains to Beaverton and Portland to the north, and to Salem, Albany and Eugene to the south.
The Tigard branch from Greton to Beaverton was built by the Beaverton and Willsburg Railroad, an affiliate of Southern Pacific, beginning in 1906, and opened to traffic in 1910. This route connected with Southern Pacific's existing west-east West Side branch in Beaverton that provided service to Portland and Hillsboro, and a second route south of Tigard to Cook, which was a junction with the Newberg branch between Lake Oswego and McMinnville. In 1914, the Southern Pacific electrified these lines as part of its Red Electric service in competition with the Oregon Electric Railway; by 1929 the Southern Pacific ended electric service, and passenger service was switched first to steam trains and doodlebugs, and later buses.
Both the Southern Pacific and the Oregon Electric (and its successor Burlington Northern) continued to provide freight service on the line until the 1990s when both railroads leased its low-density branches to shortline operators. In this case, the Southern Pacific leased its lines to newly formed Portland & Western Railroad in August 1995; followed by the Burlington Northern leasing its lines to the Portland & Western in October 1995. This put the operations of two competing railroads in the same hands for the first time in history.
Planning and funding
Led by Washington County, planning for WES began in 1996, when county officials started working with the cities of Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Wilsonville and Sherwood, as well as government transportation agencies to study the idea of establishing passenger rail service between Beaverton and Wilsonville on the existing Portland & Western line. TriMet took over as the project's lead planning agency in 2002.Gunderson, Laura (September 26, 2002). "TriMet takes over lead on commuter rail". The Oregonian, p. B3 (Portland)/B2 (Wash. County). After years of delays due to lack of funding, the project received approval from the Federal Transit Administration in May 2004,"Wilsonville–Beaverton commuter train OK'd" (May 11, 2004). The Oregonian (MetroWest edition), p. C1. resulting in the funding of approximately 50 percent of the line's capital costs.
Construction, delays, and opening Construction began October 23, 2006, in Wilsonville, and a ceremonial "ground-breaking" was held two days later in Tigard, although the project had already started and no dirt was moved.
During planning and construction, the project was called the Washington County Commuter Rail,Washington County Commuter Rail Project. City of Beaverton. Retrieved July 1, 2008. or alternately the Wilsonville to Beaverton Commuter RailLand Use & Transportation: Wilsonville to Beaverton Commuter Rail. Washington County. Retrieved July 1, 2008. since much of Wilsonville is in Clackamas County. TriMet held a naming contest to choose a name for the new line, and in November 2007 it announced WES (Westside Express Service) as the winner. By December of that year, construction on the rail line was 75 percent complete and included five new bridges and two rehabilitated bridges, and improvements to of track and 14 road crossings. A distinctive feature of the line is the gauntlet track sections installed at the three intermediate stations (Hall-Nimbus, Tigard and Tualatin). The feature allows freight trains to swing clear of the high-level platforms at the stops, so that wider cars do not strike them.
In June 2008, the line was more than 90 percent complete, with all the track in place. The four Colorado Railcar Diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars ordered for the line then arrived; a total of three powered DMU cars and one non-powered "trailer car" were tested on the route. A ceremonial inaugural run for dignitaries and journalists took place on January 22, and public preview rides on January 30, ahead of a February 2, 2009, public opening.
Originally scheduled to open in September 2008, opening was delayed several times and eventually to February 2009 due to technical and other difficulties, most notably the failure of Colorado Railcar (CR).Colorado Railcar Goes Out Of Business TriMet lost $3 million from the delays and from its financial support of CR, which included paying CR's suppliers and providing "rail engineering expertise and on-site technical assistance." They provided bailout funds to CR, paying rent, phone, and power bills, and ultimately taking control of the failing company long enough to take delivery of its vehicles.
A six-week naming contest was held for the new service with more than 1,700 entries submitted. The winning name, "WES" for "Westside Express Service", was revealed in a ceremony on November 19, 2007.
Proposed extension to Salem
In April 2010, the Rail Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) published a study for a potential southern extension of WES from Wilsonville to Salem. The study extended and proposed stations in Woodburn, Keizer, and either North Salem or Central Salem. , there have been no plans to expand WES service, owing to low ridership, but lawmakers have attempted to revisit the plan. In 2022, the city of Wilsonville revealed legislative concepts that included several service improvements to the WES commuter rail line including the Salem extension. In February 2024, SB 1572 was released, which if passed would require ODOT and other Oregon rail transit agencies to study the possibility of a Salem extension. In 2025, House Bill 3453 was released. This new bill, if fully passed and made into law, would create a separate entity, the Westside Express Service Authority (WESA), that would take over WES commuter rail service from TriMet and allow for increased service along the current line. The bill would then allow for a possible Salem extension and even Eugene. On June 27, 2025, the regular legislative session "adjourned sine die", with HB 3453 "in committee past adjournment".
Route WES trains run between Wilsonville and Beaverton during morning and afternoon rush hours, weekdays only, and until 2020 they operated every 30 minutes. Service reductions implemented early in the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the frequency to every 45 minutes starting April 5, 2020, and in fall 2025 the service level remains at the reduced level.
The scheduled one-way travel time is 27 minutes. For its first 3 years of service, the WES line was located entirely within TriMet fare zone 3, but travel on WES required a TriMet "All-Zone" (three-zone) fare, rather than a one-zone or two-zone fare. However, effective September 2012, TriMet discontinued all use of fare zones, and WES fares consequently became identical to the fares on any other TriMet rail or bus line. C-Tran all-zone day and monthly passes are also accepted as valid fare on WES. P&W, which continues to run freight trains on the line, operates the commuter trains, and TriMet maintains them.
Stations
WES serves stations in Wilsonville, Tualatin, Tigard, and at two locations in Beaverton. At Beaverton Transit Center—the line's northern terminus—commuters are able to transfer between WES and either of two light rail lines of MAX Light Rail: the Blue Line, which serves the Hillsboro–Gresham corridor via downtown Portland, and the Red Line, which connects to Portland International Airport via downtown Portland. Beaverton Transit Center also facilitates connections to 11 TriMet bus lines. Hall/Nimbus Station, the second stop in Beaverton, is served by local TriMet bus lines 76 and 78 and has about 50 park-and-ride spaces. The station is within walking distance of Washington Square Mall and Nimbus Business Park.
Tigard Transit Center Station was an existing TriMet transit center and is served by seven TriMet bus lines. Located in downtown Tigard, the station has about 100 park-and-ride spaces. Tualatin Station is in downtown Tualatin, on Boones Ferry Road near the intersection with Tualatin-Sherwood Road. The Tualatin station is served by TriMet bus lines 76 and 97 and includes 130 park-and-ride spaces, plus another 24 spaces in a nearby lot connected to the station by line 76.WES Station Locations. TriMet. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
The Wilsonville Transit Center, at the southern end of the line, provides about 400 park-and-ride spaces. Wilsonville's South Metro Area Regional Transit (SMART) opened a new transit center, known as "SMART Central", at the station in January 2009. Wilsonville Station is connected via buses to residential and employment zones in the city. Wilsonville and Salem-Keizer Transit (Cherriots) currently provide express bus service between the two cities, linking to the rail line. The city of Canby to the southeast also links to WES through SMART's service.WES Fares, Route/Station Map and Schedule. TriMet. Retrieved August 18, 2008. Other neighboring communities are also expected to use the Wilsonville stop, including Lake Oswego, Donald, Woodburn, and Aurora.
Each WES station features its own interactive art-display, each dubbed "The (Station Name) Interactivator". The Interactivators were created by Frank Boyden and Brad Rude. The art consists of bronze and stainless steel sculptures that can be pushed around a track on a table, similar to how the WES train moves on its own track.
+ List of WES Commuter Rail stations Station Image Location Connections/notes Beaverton Transit Center Beaverton MAX Light Rail: , TriMet: 19, 52, 54, 57, 76, 78, 88, 288 TriMet: 76 Park and ride: 50 spaces Tigard Transit Center Tigard TriMet: 12, 43, 76, 78, 94 YCTA: 24S, 44 Park and ride: 103 spaces Tualatin TriMet: 76, 97 Tualatin Shuttle Park and ride: 129 spaces Wilsonville Wilsonville SMART: 1X, 2X, 3X, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10X, 12X Cherriots: 01X Park and ride: 399 spaces
Operations