TRIMET 'OFFICIAL' EXPLANATION OF MAX DELRAILMENT

Like other major disruptions, the MAX derailment Monday was an inconvenience to our riders and we appreciated their patience in this tough situation. We would like to recognize all those that jumped into action on Monday night to get the system moving again including our track maintenance crews, shuttle bus operators, customer service personnel and other staff who helped riders navigate the disruption. Crews identified that one of the track brakes had a faulty hanger bracket. The hanger bracket which attaches the track brake to the vehicle broke causing the brake to drop into the path of the second wheel set. The wheel set struck the three foot-long steel track brake causing one axel of the second wheel set to lift off the rails. Following this incident maintenance crews completed an additional visual inspection of all vehicles hanger brackets as a precaution. At the height of the evening rush hour, we had 29 buses serving as a shuttle to get MAX riders around the disruption. Again, a big ‘thank you’ to all involved in keeping our riders moving and restoring service!