Red Line (Pittsburgh)

Red Line
Overview
Type	Light rail
Locale	Pittsburgh
Operation
Owner	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Operator(s)	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Technical
Track gauge	5 ft 2 ^1⁄2 in (1,588 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route map Legend Allegheny ■ North Side ■ Allegheny River Gateway Center ■■ Wood Street ■■ Penn Station occasional use Steel Plaza ■■ Panhandle Tunnel First Avenue ■■ I-376 / US 22 / US 30 Penn Lincoln Parkway Panhandle Bridge over Monongahela River Brown Line PA 837 West Carson Street Station Square ■ Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel Brown Line South Hills Junction ■■ Blue Line Palm Garden Dawn Traymore Pennant Westfield Fallowfield Hampshire Belasco Shiras Pittsburgh Dormont Stevenson Potomac Dormont Junction Dormont Mt. Lebanon Mt. Lebanon Poplar Mt. Lebanon Castle Shannon Arlington Castle Shannon Overbrook Junction Willow Blue Line Martin Villa ■ St. Anne's ■ Smith Road ■ Castle Shannon Bethel Park Washington Junction ■ Blue Line to Library Casswell ■ Highland ■ Santa Barbara ■ Bethel Village ■ Dorchester ■ Bethel Park Upper St. Clair South Hills Village ■ South Hills Village Rail Center ■

The Red Line (formerly the 42S South Hills Village via Beechview) is a line on the Pittsburgh Light Rail system that runs between South Hills Village and Downtown Pittsburgh via the Beechview neighborhood. The companion route, the Blue Line, branches off north of Martin Villa and runs through Overbrook. In March 2007, the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge for refurbishment suspended the Red Line for five months; it resumed service in September.^[1][2] On March 27 2016, rail operations were suspended between Fallowfield and Potomac due to Broadway Avenue track renewal. The closure will last for about six months. The Red Line currently is operating on the two unconnected rail sections: from Allegheny to Fallowfield, and from Potomac to Overbrook Junction, with the special shuttle bus service between the Fallowfield and Potomac stations.^[3][4]

Route

The line begins at South Hills Village in Upper St. Clair, and runs north to Washington Junction through Bethel Park, providing a transfer to the Blue Line - Library, which runs via Overbrook. The Red Line continues north through Castle Shannon and Mount Lebanon, then through the Mount Lebanon Rail Tunnel underneath Washington Rd./West Liberty Ave (aka Truck U.S. Route 19) into Dormont at the other end. The first station coming out of the tunnel northbound is Dormont Junction, then line proceeds through this suburb, crossing many streets via grade crossings. The line then arrives at Potomac, where it begins travelling through street trackage about a quarter mile down the tracks, crossing into the neighborhood of Beechview in the city of Pittsburgh near the Neeld Avenue stop.

Before the Mt. Lebanon Rail Tunnel, the old streetcars ran with car traffic on Washington Rd. between Alfred St. in Mt. Lebanon and the intersection of McFarland Rd. and Raleigh Ave. (where Washington Rd. becomes West Liberty Ave.) in Dormont.

At South Hills Junction the Red Line rejoins the Blue Line and the Brown Line, which runs over Mount Washington through the Allentown neighborhood. The Red Line runs through the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel, stopping at Station Square before crossing the Monongahela River on the Panhandle Bridge. Reaching downtown at First Avenue, the Red Line proceeds underground to Steel Plaza, Wood Street and Gateway Center. Upon reaching Gateway, the route then proceeds under the Allegheny River and makes additional stops at North Side and Allegheny stations on the North Shore.

The Port Authority closed seven stations along the Red Line on June 25, 2012: Santa Barbara, Martin Villa, Kelton, Neeld, Boustead, Coast and Traymore.^[5] The line was renamed slightly to Red Line - Castle Shannon via Beechview when the North Shore Connector opened.

There is additional limited service to and from Penn Park (at Pittsburgh Amtrak), such as during sporting events.^[6]

Station List

Station Name	Station Type	Other Services	Municipality
South Hills Village	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Upper St. Clair
Dorchester	street level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Bethel Park
Bethel Village	street level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Bethel Park
Highland	street level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Bethel Park
Casswell	street level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Bethel Park
Washington Junction	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village, Blue Line - Library	Bethel Park
Smith Road	street level	Blue Line - South Hills Village, Blue Line - Library	Castle Shannon
St. Anne's	street level	Blue Line - South Hills Village, Blue Line - Library	Castle Shannon
Overbrook Junction	street level	Red Line	Castle Shannon
Castle Shannon	high level		Castle Shannon
Arlington	street level		Castle Shannon
Poplar	street level		Mt. Lebanon
Mt. Lebanon	high level		Mt. Lebanon
Dormont Junction	high level		Dormont
Potomac	high level		Dormont
Stevenson	street level		Dormont
Shiras	street level		Pittsburgh
Belasco	street level		Pittsburgh
Hampshire	street level		Pittsburgh
Fallowfield	high level		Pittsburgh
Westfield	street level		Pittsburgh
Pennant	street level		Pittsburgh
Dawn	street level		Pittsburgh
Palm Garden	street level		Pittsburgh
South Hills Junction	high level	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village, Brown Line	Pittsburgh
Station Square	high level	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
First Avenue	high level	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village, Brown Line	Pittsburgh
Steel Plaza	underground	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village, Brown Line	Pittsburgh
Wood Street	underground	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village, Brown Line	Pittsburgh
Gateway Center	underground	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village, Brown Line	Pittsburgh
North Side	underground	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village, Brown Line	Pittsburgh
Allegheny	overground	Blue Line - Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village, Brown Line	Pittsburgh

References

1. Grata, Joe (2007-02-26). "Bus, trolley riders warned of closing of bridge over Route 51". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-04-11.
2. Grata, Joe (2007-08-22). "S. Hills bus, trolley disruptions ending Sept. 2". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
3. http://www.portauthority.org/paac/Default.aspx?tabid=124&newsid901=1650&Red-Line-construction
4. http://www.portauthority.org/paac/CompanyInfoProjects/RedLineConstructionProject.aspx
5. "Eleven T Stops Close June 25". Port Authority of Allegheny County. June 22, 2012.
6. Grata, Joe (2006-06-29). "More buses, trolleys for game". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. A9.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Red Line - Castle Shannon via Beechview schedule effective March 25, 2012
• Red Line - Castle Shannon via Beechview Route Map