Pittsburgh Light Rail

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The Pittsburgh Light Rail, commonly known as The T, is a 25-mile (40 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; it functions as a subway in downtown Pittsburgh and largely as an at-grade light rail service in the suburbs. The system is owned and operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County. It is the successor system to the streetcar network formerly operated by Pittsburgh Railways.

Map of the "T" light rail system
Map of the "T" light rail system

Contents

[edit] History

In October 1981 Port Authority began construction on its first "modern" light rail/subway service, the "T", which used an old trolley route to connect downtown Pittsburgh to the South Hills Village area. The "T" began operating in 1987 over the "Beechview" line. This was a former streetcar line that had been rehabilitated to accommodate light rail vehicles. This line was reconstructed (being completely double tracked) and routed from the South Hills Junction (PAT station) through the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel, emerging at a newly constructed station at Station Square before crossing the Monongahela river on the Panhandle Bridge (a former railway bridge), which then led into a newly built downtown (cut and cover tunnel) subway with 4 stations. Upon completion of the subway, all former streetcar lines were removed from the surface streets of downtown Pittsburgh vastly improving the chronic traffic congestion.

PCC streetcars continued to run over the "Overbrook" line until 1993, when concerns about the safety of the line led PAT to suspend service there pending reconstruction. In June 2004, the Overbrook line re-opened as a fully-rebuilt double-tracked line served by modern light rail vehicles. The "T" is most widely used in 4 stations downtown (3 of which are underground), where service is free of charge.

The South Hills Village Rail Center (SHVRC) is located at the end of 42S and 47S service at South Hills Village Mall. All of the revenue LRVs and some Maintenance of Way vehicles are stored there. Until 1999, all the old PCC cars were stored there. All but five were scrapped.[1]

[edit] Lines

The "T" runs on two lines north of Washington Junction, the "Beechview" and "Overbrook" lines, over which a number of different services operate:

[edit] 42 South Hills Village ("Via Beechview")

Main article: 42 South Hills Village

The 42 South Hills Village (42S) runs between South Hills Village and Downtown Pittsburgh via the Beechview neighborhood. A companion route, the 47 South Hills Village, branches off at Overbrook Junction and runs through Overbrook. In March of 2007 the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge for refurbishment suspended the 42S for five months; it re-opened in September of 2007[2][3]

[edit] 47 Library ("Via Overbrook")

Service begins very far south of downtown in the Library neighborhood of South Park, Pennsylvania. Fifteen stops serve Library, Bethel Park, and South Park before merging with the South Hills Village line at Washington Junction. The line splits again before Overbrook Junction station on the Beechview line, as the 47L instead follows the Overbrook line. The line then makes eight well-spaced stops on its arc through the Overbrook and Bon Air neighborhoods of southern Pittsburgh. The line merges with the Beechview line at South Hills Junction before entering the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel. The remaining stations are at Station Square, First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street, and Gateway Center.

[edit] 47 South Hills Village ("Via Overbrook")

In 2005, the Port Authority opened a new parking garage at the South Hills Village station. The 47S line was established in an effort to relieve congestion on the Beechview line for the additional traffic that the parking garage created. The 47S route follows the 42S service until Overbrook Junction where it switches to the Overbrook line. It follows the Overbrook line to South Hills Junction where it reunites with the Beechview line before entering downtown.

[edit] 52 Allentown

Main article: 52 Allentown

The 52 Allentown (52A) runs from South Hills Junction over Mount Washington and across the Monongahela River to downtown Pittsburgh, terminating at Gateway Center. It is the only downtown route that does not stop at Station Square nor use the Mount Washington tunnel.

[edit] Shuttle services

The 42 Castle Shannon (42C) is a truncated version of the 42 South Hills Village which runs between Overbrook Junction and Gateway Center during the weekday rush.[3]

[edit] Former services

The 44 Castle Shannon-Library (44L) and the 44 Castle Shannon-Beechview (44S) were truncated versions of the 47 Library and 42 South Hills Village, respectively. The 44L ran from Library to Washington Junction. The 44S ran between Overbrook Junction and Traymore. It was introduced when the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge cut off the Beechview line from the Downtown. The 44L and 44S were discontinued when the Palm Garden Bridge re-opened, in favor of the 42C.[3]

[edit] Discontinued lines

[edit] 47 Drake

Main article: 47 Drake

When light rail service began, PCC trolley service continued from Drake north through Castle Shannon along the Overbrook line to downtown. All downtown platforms incorporated both low- and high-level platforms enabling them to handle both types of vehicles. When safety concerns prompted the closure of the Overbrook line in 1993 the Drake line was cut back to Castle Shannon; later, service would terminate at Washington Junction. In September of 1999 PAT withdrew the four remaining active-service PCCs from service and closed the Drake line altogether.[4]

[edit] 47 Shannon

This was a PCC trolley line that led commuters either northbound (via Overbrook line) or southbound (via South Hills Junction, Drake or Library lines) to Castle Shannon station. The line's turnaround point, the Shannon Loop, was located just past the station at Mt. Lebanon Blvd. This loop no longer exists. Also removed from the Shannon route were the tracks surrounding the old Castle Shannon Municipal Building (which is also gone) at the intersection of Castle Shannon Blvd. and Willow Ave. At this Overbrook line connector, incoming trolleys ran in front of the building and outgoing trolleys ran behind the building and through the narrow passage between the building and Castle Shannon Blvd.

[edit] Fleet

Port Authority operates a fleet of 83 LRVs as of October 2005:

[edit] Future extensions

[edit] North Shore Connector Project

Since January of 1999, Port Authority of Allegheny County has undertaken environmental analysis, planning, design and engineering of a light rail line to connect Pittsburgh's Downtown and North Shore. The main project involves twin bored tunnels below the Allegheny River to connect a refurbished Gateway Station, the current Downtown terminus, to a "North Side Station", located just west of PNC Park and an "Allegheny Station" located just west of Heinz Field. The North Side Station will serve PNC Park, the Andy Warhol Museum, Allegheny Center and numerous office buildings in the vicinity. The Allegheny Station will serve Heinz Field, the Carnegie Science Center, the National Aviary, the Community College of Allegheny County, the future Majestic Star Casino which should open in 2008, and other nearby businesses. Unexpectedly high bids from construction companies had stalled construction, originally scheduled to begin in Fall 2005. The entire project is budgeted at $435 million, with approximately 80% ($348 million) coming from the Federal Transit Administration. The Port Authority began construction in October 2006, and the North Shore Connector should be completed and operational in 2011.[5]

[edit] Other proposed extensions

The Democratic Chief Executive of Allegheny County, Dan Onorato, hopes to eventually extend the light-rail system east to Oakland and west to Pittsburgh International Airport.[6] As of now, these extensions are merely proposals by an Allegheny County transit study and the Chief Executive.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Grata, Joe. "Thirty Old Pittsburgh Streetcars Being Turned to Scrap", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 10, 1998. 
  2. ^ Grata, Joe. "Bus, trolley riders warned of closing of bridge over Route 51", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 26, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-11. 
  3. ^ a b c Grata, Joe. "S. Hills bus, trolley disruptions ending Sept. 2", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 22, 2007. 
  4. ^ "Drivers and riders say goodbye at the end of the Drake line", Associated Press, August 31, 1999. 
  5. ^ Cleary, Caitlin. "U.S. gives green light to tunnel under river", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 9, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-04-14. 
  6. ^ Getting Around: Transportation wish list would cost billions, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 11, 2007.

[edit] External links

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Currently operating light rail and streetcar systems in the United States
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Pittsburgh Light Rail · SEPTA Routes 15, 100, 101, 102, and Subway–Surface Lines