Max and link are both backwards and barbaric for having level crossings and stoplights.
i say this at least once a week. "just put the train under the ground". i've been told it can't be done in portland because the ground is saturated with water but... the trains in montreal and nyc are underground and those are islands?? idk i'm not a train doctor i just wish they were underground
Washington Park is the only completely underground station in the MAX system. At 260 feet (79 m) below ground, it is the deepest transit station in North America and in the western hemisphere. It is also the seventh-deepest in the world.
MAX is a good light rail system prevented from being great by the lack of a tunnel downtown and subpar frequencies on the branches. It's still miles ahead of most American systems though.
Link in particular should have been built as a metro, preferably like the Skytrain with automated trains.
In the distance you hear the faint rumbling of San Franciscans bragging about how cheap the cost of living is in the PNW (they then pivot to complaining about the weather and Mexican food)