111-576: The Blue Line is a Pittsburgh Light Rail line that runs between Downtown Pittsburgh via the Overbrook neighborhood to South Hills Village (formerly 47S South Hills Village via Overbrook ). The line from South Hills Junction to Castle Shannon (now called the Overbrook Line) was first constructed by the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad between 1872 and 1874. In 1905 Pittsburgh Railways leased
222-724: A "light rail" vehicle (it is a heavy rail vehicle), and is only included for comparison purposes. Low-floor LRVs have the advantage of a low-floor design, allowing them to load passengers directly from low-rise platforms that can be little more than raised curbs. High-floor light rail systems also exist, featuring larger stations. Historically, the track gauge has had considerable variations, with narrow gauge common in many early systems. However, most light rail systems are now standard gauge . Older standard-gauge vehicles could not negotiate sharp turns as easily as narrow-gauge ones, but modern light rail systems achieve tighter turning radii by using articulated cars . An important advantage of
333-458: A bus, there will be even more capacity when there is a combination of cars and light rail. Table 3 shows an example of peak passenger capacity. The cost of light rail construction varies widely, largely depending on the amount of tunneling and elevated structures required. A survey of North American light rail projects shows that costs of most LRT systems range from $ 15 million to over $ 100 million per mile. Seattle's new light rail system
444-403: A chaotic breakdown inflow and a dramatic drop in speed (a traffic jam ) if they exceed about 2,000 vehicles per hour per lane (each car roughly two seconds behind another). Since most people who drive to work or on business trips do so alone, studies show that the average car occupancy on many roads carrying commuters is only about 1.5 people per car during the high-demand rush hour periods of
555-1102: A common right-of-way (however, Link converted to full separation in 2019). Some systems, such as the AirTrain JFK in New York City, the DLR in London, and Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur , have dispensed with the need for an operator. The Vancouver SkyTrain was an early adopter of driverless vehicles, while the Toronto Scarborough rapid transit operated the same trains as Vancouver, but used drivers. In most discussions and comparisons, these specialized systems are generally not considered light rail but as light metro systems. Around Karlsruhe , Kassel , and Saarbrücken in Germany, dual-voltage light rail trains partly use mainline railroad tracks, sharing these tracks with heavy rail trains. In
666-615: A comprehensive reconstruction and upgrading of the 10.5-mile (16.9 km) "main line" between downtown and the suburbs of Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair via Mount Lebanon and Beechview—basically following the Skybus alignment. The crowning achievement was to be a 1.1-mile (1.8 km) downtown subway, eliminating the trolleys' slow, street-running loop through Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle. On December 10, 1980, after receiving federal funding, Pittsburgh Regional Transit began construction on Stage One of its first "modern" light rail/subway service,
777-433: A fleet of 83 LRVs as of 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
888-508: A light rail line to connect Pittsburgh's Downtown and North Shore . Federal funding was approved for the extension on February 6, 2004. The main project involved twin-bore tunnels below the Allegheny River to connect a refurbished Gateway Station, which was the former Downtown terminus, to North Side station, located just west of PNC Park , and Allegheny station, located just north of Heinz Field . The completed project opened to
999-416: A light rail train may have three to four cars of much larger capacity in one train under the control of one driver, or no driver at all in fully automated systems, increasing the labor costs of BRT systems compared to LRT systems. BRT systems are also usually less fuel-efficient as they use non-electrified vehicles. The peak passenger capacity per lane per hour depends on which types of vehicles are allowed on
1110-435: A live rail. In outer areas, the trams switch to conventional overhead wires . The Bordeaux power system costs about three times as much as a conventional overhead wire system and took 24 months to achieve acceptable levels of reliability, requiring the replacement of all the main cables and power supplies. Operating and maintenance costs of the innovative power system still remain high. However, despite numerous service outages,
1221-536: A longer distance. Light rail cars are often coupled into multiple units of two to four cars. Light rail systems may also exhibit attributes of heavy rail systems, including having downtown subways, as in San Francisco and Seattle . Light rail is designed to address a gap in interurban transportation between heavy rail and bus services, carrying high passenger numbers more quickly than local buses and more cheaply than heavy rail. It serves corridors in which heavy rail
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#17328581669351332-631: A more diverse range of design characteristics than LRT, depending on the demand and constraints that exist, and BRT using dedicated lanes can have a theoretical capacity of over 30,000 passengers per hour per direction (for example, the Guangzhou Bus Rapid Transit system operates up to 350 buses per hour per direction). For the effective operation of a bus or BRT system, buses must have priority at traffic lights and have their dedicated lanes, especially as bus frequencies exceed 30 buses per hour per direction. The higher theoretical of BRT relates to
1443-407: A result, has many of the operating characteristics of a metro system rather than a light rail system. A capacity of 1,350 passengers per train is more similar to the heavy rail than light rail. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is an alternative to LRT and many planning studies undertake a comparison of each mode when considering appropriate investments in transit corridor development. BRT systems can exhibit
1554-489: A subway system on June 4, 1947. Pittsburgh Railways was one of the predecessors to Pittsburgh Regional Transit. It had 666 PCC cars, the third largest fleet in North America. It had 68 street car routes, of which only three (until April 5, 2010 the 42 series, the 47 series, and 52 ) are used by Pittsburgh Regional Transit as light rail routes. The oldest portions of these old Pittsburgh Railways routes now served by
1665-584: A timed transfer to the Blue Line allows continuing 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
1776-530: A top speed of 55–71.5 miles per hour (88.51–115.1 km/h) depending on the system, while the trains on the all-underground Montreal Metro can only reach a top speed of 72 kilometres per hour (44.74 mph). LACMTA light rail vehicles have higher top and average speeds than Montreal Metro or New York City Subway trains. Many light rail systems—even fairly old ones—have a combination of both on- and off-road sections. In some countries (especially in Europe), only
1887-474: A tramway, a light metro, and, in a narrow sense, rapid transit. This is especially common in the United States, where there is not a popularly perceived distinction between these different types of urban rail systems. The development of technology for low-floor and catenary-free trams facilitates the construction of such mixed systems with only short and shallow underground sections below critical intersections as
1998-462: Is a generic international English phrase for types of rail systems using modern streetcars/trams, which means more or less the same thing throughout the English-speaking world . Light rail systems can range from trams runnig in streets along with other traffic, to semi-metro systems having portions of grade separated track. People movers are even "lighter", in terms of capacity. Monorail
2109-509: Is a separate technology that has been more successful in specialized services than in a commuter transit role. The use of the generic term light rail avoids some serious incompatibilities between British and American English . The word tram , for instance, is generally used in the UK and many former British colonies to refer to what is known in North America as a streetcar , but in North America tram can instead refer to an aerial tramway , or, in
2220-602: Is a significant amount of overlap between the technologies; similar rolling stock may be used for either, and it is common to classify streetcars or trams as a subcategory of light rail rather than as a distinct type of transportation. However, some distinctions can be made, though systems may combine elements of both. Low-floor light rail lines tend to follow a reserved right-of-way and with trains receiving priority at intersections, and tend not to operate in mixed traffic, enabling higher operating speeds. Light rail lines tend to have less frequent stops than tramways, and operate over
2331-560: Is by far the most expensive in the US, at $ 179 million per mile, since it includes extensive tunneling in poor soil conditions, elevated sections, and stations as deep as 180 feet (55 m) below ground level. This results in costs more typical of subways or rapid transit systems than light rail. At the other end of the scale, four systems (Baltimore, Maryland; Camden, New Jersey; Sacramento, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah) incurred construction costs of less than $ 20 million per mile. Over
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#17328581669352442-426: Is especially important for wheelchair access, as narrower gauges (e.g. metre gauge) can make it challenging or impossible to pass the tram's wheels. Furthermore, standard-gauge rolling stock can be switched between networks either temporarily or permanently, and both newly built and used standard-gauge rolling stock tends to be cheaper to buy, as more companies offer such vehicles. Overhead lines supply electricity to
2553-498: Is expensive. Similarly, the most expensive US highway expansion project was the " Big Dig " in Boston, Massachusetts, which cost $ 200 million per lane mile for a total cost of $ 14.6 billion. A light rail track can carry up to 20,000 people per hour as compared with 2,000–2,200 vehicles per hour for one freeway lane. For example, in Boston and San Francisco, light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour, respectively, in
2664-575: Is hard to distinguish between what is called light rail, and other forms of urban and commuter rail. A system described as a light rail in one city may be considered to be a streetcar or tram system in another. Conversely, some lines that are called "light rail" are very similar to rapid transit ; in recent years, new terms such as light metro have been used to describe these medium-capacity systems. Some "light rail" systems, such as Sprinter , bear little similarity to urban rail, and could alternatively be classified as commuter rail or even inter-city rail. In
2775-549: Is impractical. Light metro systems are essentially hybrids of light rail and rapid transit. Metro trains are larger and faster than light rail trains, with stops being further apart. Many systems have mixed characteristics. Indeed, with proper engineering, a rail line could run along a street, then go underground, and then run along an elevated viaduct. For example, the Los Angeles Metro Rail 's A Line "light rail" has sections that could alternatively be described as
2886-569: 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 . In March 2007, the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge for refurbishment suspended
2997-480: Is one of the highest capacity ones, having been upgraded in a series of expansions to handle 40,000 passengers per hour per direction, and having carried as many as 582,989 passengers in a single day on its Line 1 . It achieves this volume by running four-car trains with a capacity of up to 1,350 passengers each at a frequency of up to 30 trains per hour. However, the Manila light rail system has full grade separation and as
3108-407: Is similar to that of a traditional tram, while operating at a higher capacity and speed, often on an exclusive right-of-way. In broader use, it includes tram-like operations mostly on streets. A few light rail networks have characteristics closer to rapid transit or even commuter rail , yet only when these systems are fully grade-separated are they referred to as light metros . The term light rail
3219-543: 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. As of February 2021, Pittsburgh Regional Transit's newly released 25-year plan includes the possibility of reviving service on the Allentown line due to continuing growth of the neighborhood. The 44 Castle Shannon-Library ( 44L ) and
3330-461: 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
3441-458: 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 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
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3552-726: The Consolidated Traction Company was chartered and the following year acquired the Central Traction Company , Citizens Traction Company , Duquesne Traction Company and Pittsburgh Traction Company and converted them to electric operation. On July 27, 1896 the United Traction Company was chartered and absorbed the Second Avenue Traction Company , which had been running electric cars since 1890. The Southern Traction Company acquired
3663-535: The Cádiz TramBahia , where trams share track with commuter and long-distance trains from the main terminus in the city and curve off to serve cities without a railway connection. Some of the issues involved in such schemes are: There is a history of what would now be considered light rail vehicles operating on heavy rail rapid transit tracks in the US, especially in the case of interurban streetcars . Notable examples are Lehigh Valley Transit trains running on
3774-735: The London Underground and the New York City Subway . Conventional rail technologies including high-speed , freight, commuter , and rapid transit urban transit systems are considered "heavy rail". The main difference between light rail and heavy rail rapid transit is the ability for a light rail vehicle to operate in mixed traffic if the routing requires it. The world's first electric tram operated in Sestroretsk near Saint Petersburg , Russia , invented and operated on an experimental basis by Fyodor Pirotsky in 1880. The first tramway
3885-570: The Monongahela River to reach the South Hills area. At that time, Pittsburgh Regional Transit planners were determined to scrap the rail system entirely in favor of busways (now called "BRT" for "Bus Rapid Transit") and an automated guideway transit system developed by Westinghouse Electric called Skybus . Community opposition rallied against the plan and in favor of retaining the electric rail trolley system and upgrading it into modern LRT. In
3996-871: 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 downtown subway had four stations, Steel Plaza , Wood Street, Gateway Center, and Penn Station. The original subway branched north of Steel Plaza, with one branch heading west to Wood Street and one branch heading east to Penn Station . A suburban trolley line with conventional jointed rail, aging electrical overhead and single track segments
4107-624: The Netherlands , this concept was first applied on the RijnGouweLijn . This allows commuters to ride directly into the city center, rather than taking a mainline train only as far as a central station and then having to change to a tram. In France, similar tram-trains are planned for Paris, Mulhouse , and Strasbourg ; further projects exist. In some cases, tram trains use previously abandoned or lightly used heavy rail lines in addition to or instead of still in use mainline tracks. In 2022, Spain opened
4218-831: The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa, Ontario , Canada, the River Line in New Jersey , United States, and the Sprinter in California , United States, which use diesel multiple unit (DMU) cars. Light rail is different from the British English term light railway , long-used to distinguish railway operations carried out under a less rigorous set of regulations using lighter equipment at lower speeds from mainline railways. Light rail
4329-673: The Philadelphia and Western Railroad high-speed third rail line (now the Norristown High-Speed Line ). Such arrangements are almost impossible now, due to the Federal Railroad Administration refusing (for crash safety reasons) to allow non-FRA compliant railcars (i.e., subway and light rail vehicles) to run on the same tracks at the same times as compliant railcars, which includes locomotives and standard railroad passenger and freight equipment. Notable exceptions in
4440-483: The Pittsburgh Railways . It is also one of only three light rail systems in the United States that continues to use the broad 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,588 mm ) Pennsylvania Trolley Gauge on its lines instead of the 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge . In 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,417,100. In the early 1960s, Pittsburgh had
4551-607: 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 Silver Line mainline. It follows
Blue Line (Pittsburgh) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-637: The federal government for preliminary planning of the extension. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has taken a strong editorial stance in late 2012 for a workable extension to the Northern suburbs all the way to Cranberry . Other transit in the United States: Light rail Light rail (or light rail transit , abbreviated to LRT ) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology while also having some features from heavy rapid transit . The term
4773-530: The medians of roads . If run in streets , trains are usually limited by city block lengths to about four 180-passenger vehicles (720 passengers). Operating on two-minute headways using traffic signal progression, a well-designed two-track system can handle up to 30 trains per hour per track, achieving peak rates of over 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction. More advanced systems with separate rights-of-way using moving block signaling can exceed 25,000 passengers per hour per track. Most light rail systems in
4884-611: The "T", which used a former Pittsburgh Railways trolley route to connect Downtown Pittsburgh to the South Hills. Stage One began with two construction projects – the downtown subway, and the former trolley route from the newly constructed South Hills Village Station and Light Rail Maintenance Center to Castle Shannon – both ends working toward the middle section of the route. The first modern light rail cars began operation from South Hills Village to Castle Shannon on April 15, 1984. The downtown subway opened on July 3, 1985, initially with fare-free "demonstration" service running only as far as
4995-621: The 1700 series. They avoided the breakers yard, along with some other trolleys from the later years of PRT ownership. The South Hills Village Rail Center (SHVRC) is located at the end of South Hills Village station , 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. The "T" has three active lines along with several discontinued lines. Formerly 42S. The Red Line runs between South Hills Village and Downtown Pittsburgh via
5106-545: The 1960s a 92-mile (148 km) automated guideway transit 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. The modern subway/light rail system can be traced to the abandonment of the proposed "Skybus" system in
5217-619: The 1970s was proven to have been a technical failure by the following decade. After World War II, the Germans retained many of their streetcar networks and evolved them into model light rail systems ( Stadtbahnen ). With the exception of Hamburg , all large and most medium-sized German cities maintain light rail networks. The concept of a "limited tramway" was proposed by American transport planner H. Dean Quinby in 1962. Quinby distinguished this new concept in rail transportation from historic streetcar or tram systems as: The term light rail transit
5328-624: The 42C. Since November 1993 the Authority has studied the so-called "Spine Line" 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
5439-587: The 42S for five months; it reopened in September 2007. Formerly 44L, 47L, and Blue Line – Library. The Silver Line begins near the Washington County–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 at Washington Junction. Some weekday and all weekend trips end at Washington Junction, where
5550-476: The Beechview line was rebuilt during the 1980s, the Overbrook line remained largely unchanged and continued to be operated using PCC cars. The reconstruction of this line would be part of the Stage II project, to be performed at a future date pending additional funding. However, the condition of the track and infrastructure of the Overbrook line continued to deteriorate and in 1993, Pittsburgh Regional Transit determined
5661-669: The Beechview line, no street-level stops were retained. The Overbrook line reopened in June 2004. Coinciding with the opening, Pittsburgh Regional Transit purchased 28 additional light rail cars to support the line and increase overall system capacity. At this time, the 55 existing cars were completely rehabilitated as well. In addition, as part of the Stage II project, upgrades to the traction power network, Operations Control Center, and signals and communications had been implemented. In January 1999, Pittsburgh Regional Transit began undertaking environmental analysis , planning, and began construction of
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#17328581669355772-491: The French city of Bordeaux , the tramway network is powered by a third rail in the city center, where the tracks are not always segregated from pedestrians and cars. The third rail (actually two closely spaced rails) is placed in the middle of the track and divided into eight-metre sections, each of which is powered only while it is completely covered by a tram. This minimizes the risk of a person or animal coming into contact with
5883-583: The Library branch rejoins the Beechview line and the former Brown Line , which ran over Mount Washington through the Allentown neighborhood. The Blue Line continues south through Beltzhoover, Bon Air, Carrick , Brookline, and Overbrook . At Bethel Park a transfer is provided to the Red Line , which reaches the same location via Beechview . Beyond Washington Junction the line splits. The South Hills Village branch
5994-465: The North Shore, makes an additional stop at North Side , then proceeds under the Allegheny River and continues underground to Gateway , Wood Street and Steel Plaza . The line then surfaces at First Avenue . Leaving downtown, it crosses the Monongahela River on the Panhandle Bridge , stopping at Station Square before running through the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel . At South Hills Junction
6105-509: The Overbrook line in 1993 the Drake line was cut back to Castle Shannon; service would later terminate at Washington Junction. In September 1999, PRT withdrew the four remaining active-service PCCs from service and closed the Drake line altogether. 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,
6216-552: The Pittsburgh Light Rail system date to 1903–1909. With the PRT's Transit Development Plan, many route names will be changed to its original, such as the 41D Brookline becoming the 39 Brookline. Many of the streetcar routes have been remembered in the route names of many Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses (e.g. 71 series). 1895 to 1905 was a time of consolidation for the numerous street railways serving Pittsburgh. On July 24, 1895
6327-698: The Port Authority closed two stations on the South Hills Village Branch as part of a system-wide consolidation: Santa Barbara and Martin Villa . Until February 2020 the line consisted of 36 stations including the Library branch which was later adopted exclusively by the Silver Line . 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
6438-420: 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, Wood Street, Gateway, North Side, and Allegheny. To avoid confusion with "Blue Line – South Hills Village", the line was renamed to "Silver Line – Library" on March 15, 2020. Formerly 47S. In 2005, Pittsburgh Regional Transit opened a new parking garage at
6549-506: 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
6660-410: The Silver Line to South Hills Junction where it reunites with the Red Line before entering downtown. 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
6771-642: The US are the NJ Transit River Line from Camden to Trenton and Austin's Capital MetroRail , which have received exemptions to the provision that light rail operations occur only during daytime hours and Conrail freight service only at night, with several hours separating one operation from the other. The O-Train Trillium Line in Ottawa also has freight service at certain hours. With its mix of right-of-way types and train control technologies, LRT offers
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#17328581669356882-455: The US as a whole, excluding Seattle, new light rail construction costs average about $ 35 million per mile. By comparison, a freeway lane expansion typically costs $ 1.0 million to $ 8.5 million per lane mile for two directions, with an average of $ 2.3 million. However, freeways are frequently built in suburbs or rural areas, whereas light rail tends to be concentrated in urban areas, where right of way and property acquisition
6993-634: The United States and in North America . In Britain, modern light rail systems began to appear in the 1980s, starting with the Tyne and Wear Metro from 1980 and followed by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London in 1987, continuing into the 1990s including the establishment of the Manchester Metrolink in 1992 and the Sheffield Supertram from 1994. Due to varying definitions, it
7104-583: The United States are limited by demand rather than capacity (by and large, most American LRT systems carry fewer than 4,000 persons per hour per direction), but Boston's and San Francisco's light rail lines carry 9,600 and 13,100 passengers per hour per track during rush hour. Elsewhere in North America, the Calgary C-Train and Monterrey Metro have higher light rail ridership than Boston or San Francisco. Systems outside North America often have much higher passenger volumes. The Manila Light Rail Transit System
7215-472: The United States, "light rail" has become a catch-all term to describe a wide variety of passenger rail systems. Light rail corridors may constitute a fully segregated corridor, a dedicated right-of-way on a street, an on-street corridor shared with other traffic, a corridor shared with other public transport, or a corridor shared with pedestrians. The most difficult distinction to draw is that between low-floor light rail and streetcar or tram systems. There
7326-415: The ability of buses to travel closer to each other than rail vehicles and their ability to overtake each other at designated locations allowing express services to bypass those that have stopped at stations. However, to achieve capacities this high, BRT station footprints need to be significantly larger than a typical LRT station. In terms of cost of operation, each bus vehicle requires a single driver, whereas
7437-494: The building and through the narrow passage between the building and Castle Shannon Blvd. Formerly 52. The Brown Line ran from South Hills Junction over Mount Washington and across the Monongahela River to downtown Pittsburgh , terminating at Wood Street . It was the only downtown route that did not stop at Station Square nor use the Mount Washington tunnel. The line supplemented the 46K bus, running 4 times each during
7548-862: The case of the Disney amusement parks , even a land train . (The usual British term for an aerial tramway is cable car , which in the US usually refers to a ground-level car pulled along by subterranean cables .) The word trolley is often used as a synonym for streetcar in the United States but is usually taken to mean a cart, particularly a shopping cart, in the UK and elsewhere. Many North American transportation planners reserve streetcar for traditional vehicles that operate exclusively in mixed traffic on city streets, while they use light rail to refer to more modern vehicles operating mostly in exclusive rights of way, since they may operate both side-by-side targeted at different passenger groups. The difference between British English and American English terminology arose in
7659-421: The closure of Glasgow Corporation Tramways (one of the largest in Europe) in 1962. Although some traditional trolley or tram systems continued to exist in San Francisco and elsewhere, the term "light rail" has come to mean a different type of rail system as modern light rail technology has primarily post-WWII West German origins. An attempt by Boeing Vertol to introduce a new American light rail vehicle in
7770-557: The company declared bankruptcy twice, first in 1918 lasting for 6 years and then again in 1938, this time lasting until January 1, 1951. On July 26, 1936 Pittsburgh Railways took delivery of PCC streetcar No. 100 from the St. Louis Car Company . It was placed in revenue service in August 1936, the first revenue earning PCC in the world. Large scale abandonments of lines began in the late 1950s, usually associated with highway or bridge work. In
7881-415: The day. This combination of factors limits roads carrying only automobile commuters to a maximum observed capacity of about 3,000 passengers per hour per lane. The problem can be mitigated by introducing high-occupancy vehicle ( HOV ) lanes and ride-sharing programs, but in most cases, policymakers have chosen to add more lanes to the roads, despite a small risk that in unfavorable situations an extension of
7992-750: The direct translation, which is city rail (the Norwegian term, by bane , means the same). However, UMTA finally adopted the term light rail instead. Light in this context is used in the sense of "intended for light loads and fast movement", rather than referring to physical weight. The infrastructure investment is also usually lighter than would be found for a heavy rail system. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA), in its Glossary of Transit Terminology, defines light rail as: ...a mode of transit service (also called streetcar, tramway, or trolley) operating passenger rail cars singly (or in short, usually two-car or three-car, trains) on fixed rails in
8103-464: The end, the LRT option was adopted for the South Hills suburbs, along with development of a busway ("BRT") system for the eastern and western suburbs. The modern subway in downtown Pittsburgh between Steel Plaza and First Avenue stations uses the Pittsburgh & Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel , which began construction in 1863. Rail lines (trolleys) had been a staple of the city and region since
8214-576: 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 on September 2, 2007. The "T" is most heavily used in four stations downtown (three of which are underground), where service is free of charge. Former Chief Executive of Allegheny County, Dan Onorato , hoped 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
8325-585: The front, with a low set and a staircase as well as a high set with level access from the platform to the train. As of 2023, there are plans to replace the aging fleet. 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 PRT 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
8436-519: The largest surviving streetcar system in the United States, with the privately owned Pittsburgh Railways Company operating more than 600 PCC cars on 41 routes. In 1964 the system was acquired by the Port Authority of Allegheny County , which rapidly converted most routes to buses. By the early 1970s, only a handful of streetcar routes remained, most of which used the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel just south of
8547-453: The late 19th century when Americans adopted the term "street railway", rather than "tramway", with the vehicles being called "streetcars" rather than "trams". Some have suggested that the Americans' preference for the term "street railway" at that time was influenced by German emigrants to the United States (who were more numerous than British immigrants in the industrialized Northeast), as it is
8658-416: The late 19th century, 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
8769-524: The latter is described as light rail. In those places, trams running on mixed rights-of-way are not regarded as a light rail but considered distinctly as streetcars or trams. However, the requirement for saying that a rail line is "separated" can be quite low—sometimes just with concrete "buttons" to discourage automobile drivers from getting onto the tracks. Some systems such as Seattle's Link had on-road mixed sections but were closed to regular road traffic, with light rail vehicles and buses both operating along
8880-601: The lease of the West End Traction Company on October 1, 1900. Pittsburgh Railways was formed on January 1, 1902, when the Southern Traction Company acquired operating rights over the Consolidated Traction Company and United Traction Company . The new company operated 1,100 trolleys on 400 miles (640 km) of track, with 178.7 million passengers and revenues of $ 6.7 million on the year. The lease and operate business model proved hard to support and
8991-455: The light rail concept was the "Shaker Heights Rapid Transit" which started in the 1920s, was renovated in 1980-81 and is now part of RTA Rapid Transit . Many original tram and streetcar systems in the United Kingdom , United States , and elsewhere were decommissioned starting in the 1950s as subsidies for the car increased. Britain abandoned its tram systems, except for Blackpool , with
9102-459: The light rail system development, the Overbrook line was reconstructed as a fully rebuilt double-tracked line served by modern light rail vehicles, making this line a considerably faster commute. The line was reopened on June 2, 2004, following major work which included doubling of the track and elimination of 22 traditional street level trolley stops in favor of eight new LRV style stations with platforms. The line starts at Allegheny station on
9213-677: The line to be unsuitable for safe operation in its current state and suspended service on the line. The line remained dormant until 1999, when the PRT broke ground on the Overbrook Line reconstruction project. The rebuilt Overbrook line was essentially an entirely new line built along the original line's right of way. As had been done with the Beechview line prior, the rebuilt line was completely double-tracked with continuously welded rail, pandrol clip fixation, upgraded catenary and signaling, and other improvements. The rebuilt line included eight accessible stations with high-level platforms; unlike
9324-441: The mid-1970s, and the subsequent $ 265 million federal grant on May 7, 1979, for construction of a downtown subway and modernization of suburban light rail. PRT, working with community representatives and government officials, undertook a detailed study on the future of the South Hills trolley lines, resolving to transform these valuable, high-density transit corridors into a modern LRT system. The resulting Stage I LRT plan achieved
9435-514: The morning rush and 3 times during the evening rush. A throwback to the days of the streetcars, the Brown Line did not feature stations or street-level boarding stops but instead allowed for boarding and unloading at designated 46K bus stops. 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
9546-465: The old and new systems. Since the 1980s, Portland, Oregon , has built all three types of system: a high-capacity light rail system in dedicated lanes and rights-of-way, a low-capacity streetcar system integrated with street traffic, and an aerial tram system . The opposite phrase heavy rail , used for higher-capacity, higher-speed systems, also avoids some incompatibilities in terminology between British and American English, for instance in comparing
9657-843: The public on March 25, 2012. The North Side station serves PNC Park , the Andy Warhol Museum , Allegheny Center and numerous office buildings in the vicinity. The Allegheny station serves 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
9768-540: The required clearance height can be reduced significantly compared to conventional light rail vehicles. Reference speed from major light rail systems, including station stop time, is shown below. However, low top speed is not always a differentiating characteristic between light rail and other systems. For example, the Siemens S70 LRVs used in the Houston METRORail and other North American LRT systems have
9879-432: The right-of-way that is often separated from other traffic for part or much of the way. Light rail vehicles are typically driven electrically with power being drawn from an overhead electric line via a trolley [pole] or a pantograph ; driven by an operator onboard the vehicle; and may have either high platform loading or low-level boarding using steps." However, some diesel-powered transit is designated light rail, such as
9990-415: The road network might lead to increased travel times ( Downs–Thomson paradox , Braess's paradox ). By contrast, light rail vehicles can travel in multi-car trains carrying a theoretical ridership up to 20,000 passengers per hour in much narrower rights-of-way , not much more than two car lanes wide for a double track system. They can often be run through existing city streets and parks , or placed in
10101-401: The roads. Typically roadways have 1,900 passenger cars per lane per hour (pcplph). If only cars are allowed, the capacity will be less and will not increase when the traffic volume increases. When there is a bus driving on this route, the capacity of the lane will be higher and will increase when the traffic level increases. And because the capacity of a light rail system is higher than that of
10212-475: The route and between 1909 and 1910 converted it from narrow gauge to dual gauge and installed overhead power for trolleys. Mid-20th century PCC streetcars continued to operate on the Overbrook Line until 1993, when concerns about the safety of the line led PAT to suspend service there pending reconstruction. This former Pittsburgh Railways trolley line had never been updated to current light rail system requirements. After receiving federal funding for Stage Two of
10323-415: The route, and between 1909 and 1910, converted it to dual gauge , retaining the existing narrow gauge for the coal hauling trains and adding the broad 5 ft 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,588 mm ) Pennsylvania trolley gauge for passenger service using streetcars . While the line was electrified with overhead power , the coal trains continued to use existing steam locomotives. While
10434-662: The same as the German term for the mode, Straßenbahn (meaning "street railway"). A further difference arose because, while Britain abandoned all of its trams after World War II except in Blackpool , eight major North American cities ( Toronto , Boston , Philadelphia , San Francisco , Pittsburgh , Newark , Cleveland , and New Orleans ) continued to operate large streetcar systems. When these cities upgraded to new technology, they called it light rail to differentiate it from their existing streetcars since some continued to operate both
10545-408: The standard gauge is that standard railway maintenance equipment can be used on it, rather than custom-built machinery. Using standard gauges also allows light rail vehicles to be conveniently moved around using the same tracks as freight railways. Additionally, wider gauges (e.g. standard gauge) provide more floor clearance on low-floor trams that have constricted pedestrian areas at the wheels, which
10656-459: The suburbs south of the city. The system is largely linear in a north-south direction, with one terminus near Pittsburgh's central business district and two termini in the South Hills . The system is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit . The T is one of the surviving first-generation streetcar systems in North America , with the oldest portions of the network dating back to 1903 and
10767-551: The system was a success with the public, gaining up to 190,000 passengers per day. Automatic train operation is employed on light rail networks, tracking the position and speed of a train and hence adjusting its movement for safety and efficiency. One line of light rail (requires 7.6 m, 25' right of way) has a theoretical capacity of up to 8 times more than one 3.7 m (12 foot) lane on a freeway, excluding busses, during peak times. Roads have ultimate capacity limits that can be determined by traffic engineering , and usually experience
10878-462: The then-new Station Square station for the first few days. The last day of streetcar service running on streets in downtown – and across the historic Smithfield Street Bridge – was July 6, 1985, with the subway opening for full service on July 7. The last leg of the modern suburban "Beechview" line (from Castle Shannon to South Hills Junction via Mt. Lebanon and Beechview – now part of the Red Line)
10989-522: 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. Pittsburgh Light Rail The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T ) is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania , and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh , but runs mostly at-grade in
11100-499: The trams, making it safe on city streets. Several systems in Europe and a few recently opened systems in North America use diesel -powered trains. When electric streetcars were introduced in the late 19th century, conduit current collection was one of the first ways of supplying power, but it proved to be much more expensive, complicated, and trouble-prone than overhead wires . When electric street railways became ubiquitous, conduit power
11211-455: The vast majority of light rail systems. This avoids the danger potentially presented by an electrified third rail . The Docklands Light Railway uses an inverted third rail for its electrical power, which allows the electrified rail to be covered and the power drawn from the underside. Trams in Bordeaux , France, use a special third-rail configuration where the power is only switched on beneath
11322-434: The widest range of latitude of any rail system in the design, engineering, and operating practices. The challenge in designing light rail systems is to realize the potential of LRT to provide fast, comfortable service while avoiding the tendency to overdesign that results in excessive capital costs beyond what is necessary to meet the public's needs. The BART railcar in the following chart is not generally considered to be
11433-472: Was approved for funding May 8, 1985, with $ 20 million in federal grants, and PRT 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
11544-586: Was budgeted at $ 435 million, with approximately 80% ($ 348 million) coming from the Federal Transit Administration . Pittsburgh Regional Transit began construction in October 2006, with the first bore completed on July 10, 2008, and the second bore under the Allegheny river completed in early 2009. Service began on March 25, 2012, with a final cost of $ 523.4 million. Pittsburgh Regional Transit operates
11655-455: Was coined in 1972 by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA; the precursor to the Federal Transit Administration ) to describe new streetcar transformations that were taking place in Europe and the United States. In Germany, the term Stadtbahn (to be distinguished from S-Bahn , which stands for Stadtschnellbahn ) was used to describe the concept, and many in UMTA wanted to adopt
11766-502: Was coined in 1972 in the United States as an English equivalent for the German word Stadtbahn , meaning "city railway". Different definitions exist in some countries, but in the United States, light rail operates primarily along exclusive rights-of-way and uses either individual tramcars or multiple units coupled together, with a lower capacity and speed than a long heavy rail passenger train or rapid transit system. Narrowly defined, light rail transit uses rolling stock that
11877-450: Was created in 1987 to complement the Red Line , which runs through Beechview before reaching the same terminus. This line was originally operated using PCCs, most notably the 4000 series , because the new light rail cars were incompatible with the Overbrook line due to its age and condition. Service was suspended when the Overbrook Line closed in 1993, but was reinstated after that line was rebuilt and reopened in 2004. On June 25, 2012,
11988-662: Was introduced in North America in 1972 to describe this new concept of rail transportation. Prior to that time the abbreviation "LRT" was used for " Light Rapid Transit " and " Light Rail Rapid Transit ". The first of the new light rail systems in North America began operation in 1978 when the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta , adopted the German Siemens-Duewag U2 system, followed three years later by Calgary, Alberta , and San Diego, California . The concept proved popular, with there now being numerous light rail systems in
12099-552: Was reborn as a wholly double track light rail line with continuous welded rail and modern catenary. Upon completion of the subway, all former streetcar lines were removed from the surface streets of Downtown Pittsburgh. The line from South Hills Junction to Castle Shannon via Overbrook (now called the Overbrook Line – part of the Blue and Silver lines) was first constructed by the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad (P&CSRR) between 1872 and 1874. In 1905, Pittsburgh Railways leased
12210-610: Was the Gross-Lichterfelde tramway in Lichterfelde near Berlin in Germany, which opened in 1881. It was built by Werner von Siemens who contacted Pirotsky. It initially drew current from the rails, with overhead wire being installed in 1883. The first interurban to emerge in the United States was the Newark and Granville Street Railway in Ohio, which opened in 1889. An early example of
12321-517: Was used in those cities that did not permit overhead wires. In Europe, it was used in London, Paris, Berlin, Marseille, Budapest, and Prague. In the United States, it was used in parts of New York City and Washington, D.C. Third rail technology was investigated for use on the Gold Coast of Australia for the G:link light rail, though power from overhead lines was ultimately utilized for that system. In
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