Pittsburgh Light Rail
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The Pittsburgh Light Rail, commonly known as The T, is a 25-mile light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by the Port Authority of Allegheny County.
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[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. In June 2004, another "T" route began service on the Overbrook Line. 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 4 were scrapped.
[edit] Lines
The T runs on two lines north of Washington Junction, the Beechview and Overbrook Lines:
[edit] 42S South Hills Village ("Via Beechview")
This line begins at South Hills Village in Bethel Park Shannon, with 5 minor stops before arriving at Washington Junction, providing a transfer to the 47L Library line. The 42S continues for 3 more minor stops before reaching Overbrook Junction. Here, the track splits between the Beechview and the Overbrook line. The 42S continues on the Beechview line for 2 minor stops before reaching Mount Lebanon. The line runs through the Mount Lebanon Rail Tunnel underneath US 19 (Truck) before arriving at Dormont Junction. The line proceeds through the Dormont neighborhood, 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 and officially into Pittsburgh near the Neeld Avenue stop. It eventually merges back up with the Overbrook line and provides access to the 52 Allentown line at South Hills Junction. Proceeding through the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel, the 42S stops at Station Square before crossing the Monongahela River on the Panhandle Bridge. Reaching downtown at First Avenue, the 42S proceeds underground to Steel Plaza and Wood Street. At the end of the line, the tracks circle back before arriving at the single platform Gateway Center station, preparing to travel outbound.
Twice daily during afternoon rush hour, the 42S takes a different set of tracks from Steel Plaza to Penn Station to provide a connection to the East Busway.
[edit] 47L Library ("Via Overbrook")
Service begins very far south of downtown in Library, 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 immediately before the Castle Shannon 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] 47S 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.
This route is not used on weekday evenings and Saturdays.
[edit] 52 Allentown
This line is much smaller and runs less frequently than the 42 or 47, providing service to the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where dense housing and the hilly terrain make automobile transportation very limited -- some area streets cannot be used at all during the winter. Service begins at South Hills Junction, heading for Warrington Avenue. The 52 parallels Warrington in an easterly direction until Arlington Avenue, where it follows the sharply bending street until it is running northwesterly. It uses the same bridge into downtown as the 42 and 47, stopping at First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street, and Gateway Center, but it does not stop at Station Square because it approaches the bridge from the southeast, while Station Square is southwest of the bridge.
In recent years, due to budget pressures, the 52 service was severely reduced, and now runs only during the weekday rush; substitute service is provided by the 46K bus. The Port Authority considered ending all 52 service, but this would have provided only limited savings unless the tracks and overhead wires were also decommissioned. The 52's tracks provide a backup route when a stalled vehicle or planned maintenance closes the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel, allowing 42 and 47 service to continue operating, albeit with delays since the Allentown route takes much longer than the tunnel.
[edit] Fleet
Port Authority operates a fleet of 83 LRVs as of October 2005:
- 4101-4155 (Siemens SD400) (1985)
- 4301-4328 (CAF LRV) (2003-2004)
- 4201-4255 (Except for some unrebuilt ones) (Rebuilt by CAF, ex-Siemens SD400s) (2005-2006)
[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 and other nearby businesses. Unexpectedly high bids from construction companies had stalled construction, originally scheduled to begin in Fall 2005. Currently, The Port Authority is expected to begin construction in October 2006. The North Shore Connector should be completed and operational in 2011.
