(TNS) - Communication broke down at all levels during a Halloween storm that flooded one MAX train and took more than a dozen trains out of commission, an internal Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation (TriMet) review concluded.



Managers and train controllers didn't know enough about the condition train operators were seeing in the field, and their orders on the day of the storm conflicted with the agencies own policies.



"It's not just the rules and procedures," said Bob Nelson, TriMet's deputy general manager. "It's how they're communicated during changing conditions."



Among the mistakes identified in the report:



A train order instructing operators to slow to 10 mph didn't provide enough guidance to operators, and it wasn't updated as conditions worsened.



The agency doesn't have rules that dictate what depth of standing water is safe for MAX trains.



Only one supervisor was assigned to downtown Portland, which saw the worst conditions — and that manager also was responsible for an area that stretches to Gateway in East Portland and the Expo Center in North Portland.



The agency has come up with a to-do list — with two-week deadlines — to address the communications breakdown and avoid a mess during the next winter storm. But the agency might not have two weeks. A storm expected this weekend could rival the one two weeks earlier in rainfall.



TriMet is giving its controllers new guidance on facilitating communications to and from operators in advance of the storm, said spokeswoman Mary Fetsch. Maintenance crews and supervisors will be keeping a close eye on water levels.



Agency officials said they would follow up with the City of Portland, which was responsible for maintaining roadways and storm-water drains along the light-rail routes. They also will seek a private contractor to provide emergency water-pumping services in another flood event.



The sudden Oct. 31 storm dropped two inches of rain around Portland in a matter of hours. With a mass of fallen leaves clogging storm drains, streets around the region flooded.



Several feet of water pooled in the section of track where the Red and Blue MAX lines pass under the Morrison Bridge. Trains were ordered to slow to 10 mph and proceed through the high water.



Several trains reported electrical malfunctions after passing through the water. Those trains stayed in service, but had to be shut down and reset, a process that took several minutes.



Other trains took on water, with one operator reporting as much as a foot of water in the MAX train's passenger compartment. A video of the waterlogged MAX train circulated on social media the day of the storm.



The damage frustrated commuters during the next week as TriMet had to run some trains with a single car in order to keep up its schedule.



"We in transportation are always taught, 'If in doubt, don't,'" said Bob Nelson, TriMet's deputy general manager. "We want to make sure people understand that. We cannot be going through water at a level that it will enter a rail car."



It's not clear how much the repairs have cost, Nelson said. At least three trains remain out of service, but TriMet was only running one single-car train on Wednesday.



The Oregon Department of Transportation is also investigating the incident on behalf of the Federal Transit Administration, a major funder of the light-rail system's construction.



The state agency's inquiry is ongoing and could take weeks or months, a spokesman said earlier. It was closed Wednesday for Veterans Day.





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