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A New Name For Washington County Commuter Rail

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	City of Tigard 13125 SW Hall Blvd. Tigard, Oregon 97223	Press Release November 21, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contact:	Joanne Bengtson City of Tigard 503-718-2476 joanne@tigard-or.gov

A New Name For Washington County Commuter Rail

On Monday, November 19, TriMet announced WES as the new name of the Washington County commuter rail line. The name was revealed at an event held at the Beaverton Transit Center. WES stands for Westside Express Service and the Westsider.

In October, the agency launched a six-week contest to "Name that Train." More than 1,700 entries from all over the metro area were received. Entries were judged by Washington County officials and community organizations. They narrowed the list of names to five.

Eighteen people submitted the winning name. Oregon City resident, Heidi Frymark is the winner of the train-naming contest. She will receive an annual TriMet transit pass valued at $836 and everyone who submitted the winning name will get a preview ride next year on a WES commuter rail train.

Construction update

More than 75 percent of construction is complete
About 14-miles of track have been rebuilt
14 road crossings reconstructed
Five new railroad bridges built and two bridges rehabilitated

Cost and funding
The $117.3 million project is funded by:

$58.65 million in federal funding
$35.34 million from state lottery bond proceeds
$15.56 million from TriMet and GARVEE bonds
$7.75 million from local cities and Washington County
TriMet and Washington County are contributing a total of $4.1 million toward annual operating costs.

About the project
The 14.7-mile Washington County commuter rail will open on September 12, 2008, the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Westside MAX line. WES will use existing freight tracks with self-propelled diesel trains to provide commuter rail service to Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin and Wilsonville when it opens September 12, 2008. Because the line uses existing freight tracks in a dedicated corridor, construction impacts are minimal. TriMet is working with Colorado Railcar to design and build the vehicle.

It is the first commuter rail line in Oregon, and among a handful of suburb-to-suburb commuter lines in the country. When complete it will connect to the Beaverton Transit Center with nearly a dozen bus lines, and MAX Blue and Red lines as well as bus service at each station.