Pittsburgh Light Rail

Pittsburgh Light Rail
A "T" vehicle departs the Station Square station.
Background
Owner	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Locale	Pittsburgh
Transit type	Subway/Light rail
Daily ridership	25,200
Website	Pittsburgh Subway/Light Rail
Operation
Began operation	April 15, 1984
Operator(s)	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Technical
System length	25 miles
Track gauge	5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) Pennsylvania Trolley Gauge
Electrification	650 V DC, Overhead lines
System map Map of the "T" light rail system.

The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T) is a 25-mile (40.2 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.

History

Subway Tunnels

The modern subway in downtown Pittsburgh between Steel Plaza and First Avenue stations uses the tunnel of the historic Pennsylvania Canal, which began construction on that section on May 3, 1828. Rail lines (trolleys) had been a staple of the city and region since the late 1800s, the idea of a downtown to Oakland or East Liberty subway had been considered since at least the 1910s. A public referendum was passed to fund such a subway with an initial investment of $6 million on July 8, 1919, another $5.5 million subway plan was finalized at City Hall in meetings on March 28, 1932, and the public/private Allegheny Conference presented detailed plans and funding for a subway system on June 4, 1947.

1960's & Skybus 70's

Main article: Transit Expressway Revenue Line

In the 1960s a 92-mile subway/lightrail system was planned fanning out to the north, south, east, southeast and west including connections to both the Pittsburgh International Airport the Allegheny County Airport, Monroeville Mall and adjacent to Kennywood Amusement Park [1]. The modern subway/lightrail system can be traced to the abandonment of the proposed "Skybus" system in the mid 1970's, and the subsequent $265 million federal grant on May 7, 1979 for construction of a downtown subway and modernization of suburban light rail.

Modern System

On December 10, 1980 [2], the 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 first modern light rail cars began operation from South Hills Village to Castle Shannon on April 15, 1984 [3] with the downtown subway added to the system on July 3, 1985. The last leg of the modern suburban "Beechview" line was approved for funding May 8, 1985 with $20 million in federal grants and completed the modern system on May 22, 1987 at a total cost of $522 million. The suburban line in the south hills were former streetcar lines that had been rehabilitated to accommodate light rail vehicles. The Beechview line was reconstructed (being completely double tracked) and routed from the South Hills Junction 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 four stations, which incorporated the nineteenth century Pittsburgh & Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel. The original subway branched north of Steel Plaza, with one branch heading west to Wood Street and one branch heading east to Penn Station. Upon completion of the subway, all former streetcar lines were removed from the surface streets of Downtown Pittsburgh.

Extensions and Additions

Since November 1993 the Authority has studied the so-called "Spine Line" [4] to the Oakland neighborhood which is the third largest center for commuters in the commonwealth and the home to Carlow University, the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, the Pittsburgh Technology Center, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Phipps Conservatory. Thus far the extension to Oakland has not gone beyond the design phase. The First Avenue station was added in 2001; service to Penn Station was suspended later that decade.

Mid-20th century 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 heavily used in four stations downtown (three of which are underground), where service is free of charge.

Pittsburgh Light Rail Map

Allegheny future North Side future Allegheny River Tunnel under Allegheny River              Gateway Center closed              Wood Street Penn Station occasional use              Steel Plaza Panhandle Tunnel              First Avenue Panhandle Bridge over Monongahela River          Station Square      William Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel on-street running      Harwood Steps              South Hills Junction      Palm Garden Palm Garden trestle      Dawn      Boggs      Traymore      Pennant      Westfield      Bon Air Fallowfield viaduct      Fallowfield      Hampshire      Coast      Denise      Belasco      Boustead      Shiras      Neeld      South Bank      Stevenon      Potomac      McNeilly      Kelton      Dormont Junction Mt. Lebanon Tunnel      Mt. Lebanon      Killarney      Poplar      Memorial Hall      Arlington      Castle Shannon      Willow      Overbrook Junction          Martin Villa          St. Anne's          Smith Road          Washington Junction          Casswell          Highland          Santa Barbara          Bethel Village          Dorchester          South Hills Village  47D  Drake      Mine 3      Hillcrest      Lindermer      Center      Lytle      Mesta      South Park      Munroe      Latimer      Sarah      Logan      King's School      Beagle      Sandy Creek      West Library      Library

Lines

The "T" has four lines:

Red Line

Main article: Red Line (Pittsburgh)

Formerly 42S. The Red Line runs between South Hills Village and Downtown Pittsburgh via the Beechview neighborhood. Six stops serve Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park before merging with the Blue Line at Washington Junction. The Red Line splits again before Overbrook Junction (PAT station) and the Red Line heads toward the suburbs of Castle Shannon, Mt. Lebanon, and Dormont. After entering Pittsburgh city limits, the route features a variety of closely spaced stops through Beechview, where bus service is limited due to the hilly terrain, despite a dense population. Twenty stops occur between the split in the lines and their re-juncture at South Hills Junction. The route then enters the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel. The remaining stations in Downtown are at Station Square, First Avenue, Steel Plaza, and Wood Street (PAT station). In March 2007, the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge for refurbishment suspended the 42S for five months; it re-opened in September 2007.

Blue Line - Library

Main article: Blue Line - Library

Formerly 44L, 47L. Service begins near the Allegheny County line in the Library neighborhood of South Park. Fifteen stops serve Library, Bethel Park, and South Park before merging with the Blue Line - South Hills Village line at Washington Junction. Some weekday, and all weekend trips end at Washington Junction, where a timed transfer to the Blue Line - South Hills Village will continue a trip to Overbrook and Downtown. For the trips that serve Downtown, the line splits again before Overbrook Junction station on the Red Line, as the Blue Line instead follows the Overbrook route. The line then makes eight well-spaced stops on its arc through the Overbrook, Brookline, Carrick, Beltzhoover, and Bon Air neighborhoods of southern Pittsburgh. The line merges with the Red Line at South Hills Junction before entering the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel. The remaining stations are at Station Square, First Avenue, Steel Plaza, and Wood Street.

Blue Line - South Hills Village

Main article: Blue Line - South Hills Village

Formerly 47S. 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 Red Line for the additional traffic that the parking garage created. The Blue Line - South Hills Village route follows the South Hills Village leg of the Red Line and the common leg from Washington Junction to Willow Station, which is adjacent to Overbrook Junction, where it switches to the Blue Line - Library mainline. It follows the Blue Line - Library to South Hills Junction where it reunites with the Red Line before entering downtown.

Shuttle services

Occasionally, the Port Authority will use shuttle service for special occasions. For example:

On March 14, 2010, shuttle service between Steel Plaza and Penn Park Station was used as a connection to the East Busway. Due to the St. Patrick's Day parade, the EBA bus (East Busway - All Stops) was unable to connect with the downtown portion of its route.

On July 4, 2008, the SL - Subway Local was used. This route provided service between Gateway Center and South Hills Junction Low Platform via Mt. Washington Transit tunnel.

When the Port Authority was testing automatic equipment on the Overbrook Line, the 42L - Library via Beechview was used as a replacement to the 47L.

Shuttle buses are also used when the T cannot operate, such as when construction or tree removal is taking place, during power outages, and derailments.

Former services

The 44 Castle Shannon-Library (44L) and the 44 Castle Shannon-Beechview (44S) were truncated versions of the Blue Line - Library and Red Line, 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 44S was discontinued when the Palm Garden Bridge re-opened, in favor of the 42C.

Brown Line

Main article: Brown Line (Pittsburgh)

Formerly 52. The Brown Line ran from South Hills Junction low platform (except the first and last trips of each rush, which serve the high platform) over Mount Washington and across the Monongahela River to downtown Pittsburgh, terminating at Wood Street. It is the only downtown route that does not stop at Station Square nor use the Mount Washington tunnel. The line supplements the 46K bus, running 4 times each during the morning rush and 3 times during the evening rush. A throwback to the days of the streetcars, the 52 does not features stations or street-level boarding stops (which are generally designed like bus shelters in the suburbs, or are concrete island platforms in Beechview) but instead allows for boarding and unloading at designated 46K bus stops. Two inbound and two outbound trips (the first one in and the last one out of each rush) serve South Hills Village via the Blue Line. This service exists because the train is coming from the rail center located near South Hills Village Mall, and serves the entire length of the route. The steepest grade on the entire light rail system is on this line, about 10 percent.

This service was discontinued in the March 27, 2011 systemwide cuts.

Discontinued lines

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; service would later terminate at Washington Junction. In September 1999, PAT withdrew the four remaining active-service PCCs from service and closed the Drake line altogether.

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.

Fleet and depot

Current fleet

The interior of car #4240, showing the low-platform and high-platform doors.

Port Authority operates a fleet of 83 LRVs as of 2006:

• 4201–4255: Siemens SD-400s, built in 1985–87 as 4101–4155; rebuilt by CAF in 2005–2006 and renumbered
• 4301–4328: CAF LRV, built in 2003–2004

Trains are generally run in a two car configuration. The routes have sections that have a dedicated right of way as well as mixed sections that run along roadways with automobile traffic. Generally, stations along roadways have low level platforms while stops along the dedicated rights of way have high level platforms. To allow easy boarding in both situations, the trains have two sets of doors at the front, with a low set and a staircase as well as a high set with level access from the platform to the train.

Retired PCC Fleet

Main article: Port Authority 4000 Series PCC

The four remaining PCC cars were retired in 1999. These PCCs were from an original fleet of 12 "homebuilt" cars constructed in the 1980s in the Port Authority shops using a combination of new underframes, lower body panels, front and rear ends, interiors, wiring and controls, together with reconditioned components such as trucks, motors, and upper body parts and windows reused from original Pittsburgh PCCs numbered in the 1700 series. They avoided the breakers yard, along with some other trolleys from the later years of PAT ownership.

Depot

The South Hills Village Rail Center (SHVRC) is located at the end of the Blue Line - South Hills Village, adjacent to the shopping mall of the same name. All of the revenue light rail vehicles (LRVs) and some Maintenance of Way vehicles are stored there. All the old PCC cars were stored there as well prior to their retirement in 1999.

Future extensions

North Shore Connector Project

Main article: North Shore Connector

Since January 1999, the Port Authority of Allegheny County has undertaken environmental analysis, planning, and construction of a light rail line to connect Pittsburgh's Downtown and North Shore. Federal funding was approved for the extension on February 6, 2004.

Construction on the Gateway Center station in August 2011.

The main project involves twin bored tunnels below the Allegheny River to connect a refurbished Gateway Station, which is the current Downtown terminus, to a "North Side Station", located just west of PNC Park and an "Allegheny Station" located just North 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 Rivers Casino, 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, with the first bore completed on July 10, 2008 and the second tunnel under the Allegheny river completed in early 2009. The North Shore Connector is expected to be completed and operational in early 2012.

Other proposed extensions

The Chief Executive of Allegheny County, Dan Onorato, hopes to eventually extend the light-rail system east to Oakland and west to Pittsburgh International Airport. In 2009, Onorato along with Congressman Mike Doyle requested approximately $7 million in funding from the federal government for preliminary planning of the extension.

Gallery

• 

  A Southbound car passes a pedestrian after leaving the Arlington stop.

• 

  An outbound train prepares to enter the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel.

• 

  Pittsburgh PCC 4001 as a static display in front of the South Hills Village depot.

• 

  A northbound car leaves Station Square.

• 

  Port Authority light rail train, Washington Junction Station, March 2005.

• 

  South Hills Village Rail Center.

See also

• List of Pittsburgh "T" stations

External links

• Official Website
• Jon Bell's photos of Pittsburgh Light Rail vehicles and stations
• Photos of heritage and modern Pittsburgh Light Rail vehicles and stations at nycsubway.org
• Map