Welcome to the fact page devoted entirely to our Light Rail Transit System. Our system is one of the nicer ones in the country. Photos of the cars have been moved to Siemens SD-400 and CAF LRV respectively.

In case you wondered how order was kept in the rail system, here's a peek into the world of the control center...otherwise know as OCC...

This is where the whole LRT system is controlled.

Here is a map showing the system as it will looks in the early 2000's.

And the map from today...

And a little more detail on the city end...

The 52 Allentown used to run every hour between South Hills Junction via downtown Allentown into downtown Pittsburgh. This Route does NOT serve Station Square. It was my personal favorite. Originally, the lines ran with PCC and LRV cars.

Some 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 four 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.

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.

The South Hills Village Rail Center (SHVRC) is located at the end of 42S and 47S lines at South Hills Village Mall. All of the revenue light rail vehicles (LRVs) and some Maintenance of Way vehicles are stored there. Until 1999, all the old PCC cars were stored there.

The Pittsburgh Light Rail has three types of stations. They are low platform, high platform, and underground. High platform and underground stations are wheelchair accessible as the train doors are level with the platform. Low platform stations are not wheelchair accessible as they require passengers to climb stairs to board the light rail vehicle.

Active Lines

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

Red Line

Formerly known as: 42 South Hills Village, 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. Fifteen 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

Blue Line (Library)

Formerly known as: 44L, 47L Library (via Overbrook)

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.

To avoid confusion, this segment (Library) was later renamed to the "Silver Line"

Blue Line (South Hills Village)

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.

Silver Line (Overbrook-Library)

The Silver Line is a line on the Pittsburgh Light Rail system that runs between Downtown Pittsburgh through the Overbrook neighborhood to Library. It is the renamed service for the former Blue Line – Library branch.

Discontinued Lines

47D 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. In September of 1999 PAT withdrew the four remaining active-service PCCs from service and closed the Drake line altogether.

Brown Line

Formerly known as: 52A, 52 Allentown

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 feature 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 system-wide cuts.

The line is still in existence, and is used as a bypass to the Mount Washington Tunnel during maintenance. The tunnel is closed to all vehicular (bus) and light rail traffic during maintenance.

I usually picked this as much as I could because I enjoyed this route. The old 52 line can still be utilized in a emergency when the tunnel or Station Square has issues, such as the CSX train derailment in 2018.

Fleet

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

4101-4155: (Siemens SD-400) (1985)
4301-4328: (CAF LRV) (2003-2004)
4201-4255: (Except for some unrebuilt ones) (Rebuilt by CAF, ex-Siemens SD400s) (2005-2006)

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.

How does a 2 car train work? To find out, feel free to click the link below

Extensions

Since January 1999, the 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, which is 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 Rivers Casino which should open in 2009, 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 2012.

Actual map of the connector.

Completed!

Planned since the late 1990's, the North Shore Connector received federal funding on February 6, 2004 and had crews complete the initial bore under the river on July 10, 2008. The Connector had a "soft opening" on Friday, March 23rd, 2012, with regular service beginning March 25, 2012. The final cost of the project was $523.4 million

The new North Side Station...

And the inside of the North Side Station.

Headed into the tunnel under the river!

Allegheny Station.

My friend, Sasha Craig, lead instructor at the rail center, preparing to continue training operators.

Siemens LRV at Allegheny Station.

More to Come!