Type Light rail Electrification Overhead lines | Locale Pittsburgh | |
Owner Port Authority of Allegheny County Operator(s) Port Authority of Allegheny County Track gauge 5 ft 2 ⁄2 in (1,588 mm) | ||
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.
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. The line was renamed slightly to Red Line - Castle Shannon via Beechview when the North Shore Connector opened.