The Cleveland Terminal Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from a point northeast of downtown Cleveland southwest to downtown[1] along the former New York Central Railroad main line.
At its east end, the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision becomes the Erie West Subdivision. Its west end is at a junction with the Norfolk Southern Railway's Cleveland Line and Chicago Line; through freights leave at the junction with the Short Line Subdivision to bypass downtown and remain on CSX trackage.
Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited uses the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision.
The line was built by the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad and opened in 1851.[2] Through mergers, leases, and takeovers, it became part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, New York Central Railroad, and Conrail. When Conrail was broken up in 1999, the main line east of downtown Cleveland, including the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision, was assigned to CSX.