TriMet has decided that an apology goes only so far.

Now it's offering MAX riders what it calls a "thank you" for enduring a week of nightmarish delays caused by rail reconstruction and a train derailment on Friday.

Oregon's largest transit agency has decided to offer free MAX rides on Monday.

Here's the full announcement about the one-day fare amnesty that came from TriMet just before 10 p.m. Friday night:

TriMet customers using MAX underwent travel delays due to construction and a train derailment. To thank you for your patience and understanding, we are giving Free Rides on MAX this Monday! This week riders had to deal with disruptions due to construction at the Lloyd Center area. After a rough start, things got smoother on Tuesday, but Friday's derailment added extra transfers and delays! This construction will make it better for MAX riders, bicyclists, pedestrians and autos. We appreciate our riders (sic) patience and understanding during this week long disruption – and so we say "Thank You" with Free Monday on the MAX on Monday, August 18!

On Monday, TriMet crews began smashing apart pavement and pulling up a troublesome section of track that should have been replaced years ago near Northeast Portland's Lloyd Center.

Almost immediately, trains across the 52-mile MAX system began stacking up. By noon, Oregon's largest public transit system had issued a public apology, admitting that its plan to move riders around the rail work on shuttle buses had buckled during the morning commute.

Throughout the week, TriMet asked MAX riders to expect delays of between 30 and 60 minutes to their commutes due to the rail work.

Riders should should expect similar delays in the future.

After deferring millions of dollars dollars in rail maintenance and rebuilding during the Great Recession, TriMet plans to spend $9.5 million on replacing 21 deteriorating rail switches, many of which have malfunctioned and caused repeated service meltdowns in recent years, according to maintenance logs and other records obtained through a public records request by The Oregonian.

Three of those switches are in the Lloyd District.

Then Friday, a slow-moving MAX train reportedly carrying more than 150 people derailed in Northeast Portland's Lloyd District, sending one person to the hospital with minor injuries and causing major systemwide delays for light-rail riders during the evening commute.

Ironically, the derailment happened just as construction crews were finishing the rail work two blocks away.

Right about now, riders who have purchased monthly and weekly passes are probably asking, "So, how do we get our free pass?"

"This is just a small token to express our appreciation to TriMet riders for their patience and understanding during this week's MAX delays," said TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt in a statement to The Oregonian. "We appreciate our pass holders' continuing support. However, given how our fare system is structured, we can only provide free fares to riders without a monthly pass."

-- Joseph Rose