Actually the decision on where to stop the train was made before September 11; the station opened on September 10, 2001. The current airport station is at the Alaska/Horizon end of the terminal. The walk from the station to the terminal is shorter than the walk from one end of the ticket area to the other.

The current station is open-air and temporary. It will be replaced by a fully-enclosed station slightly farther away (still within walking distance) in the next few years, budget permitting, consistent with the Port of Portland's master plan for the airport.

The light rail to the airport is not particularly fast -- it makes the same stops as the regular suburban light rail for the first five miles out of downtown -- but it is convenient and comfortable. I don't know that I will ever drive to the airport again.