Pittsburgh Light Rail Silver Line
A Silver Line train.
Overview
OwnerPort Authority of Allegheny County
LocalePittsburgh
Stations31
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemPittsburgh Light Rail
Operator(s)Port Authority of Allegheny County
Depot(s)South Hills Village Rail Center
Rolling stockSiemens SD-400, CAF LRV
Daily ridership6,545 (2018)
Technical
Track gauge5 ft 2+12 in (1,588 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 650 V DC
Route map

Allegheny
North Side
Gateway
Wood Street
Penn Station
occasional use
Steel Plaza
First Avenue
I-376 / US 22 / US 30
Penn Lincoln Parkway
Station Square
Monongahela Incline South Busway
South Hills Junction
South Busway
LowerLeft arrow  Red Line
Boggs
Bon Air
Denise
South Bank
South Busway
McNeilly
Killarney
Memorial Hall
Overbrook
Junction
| Willow
St. Anne's
Smith Road
Washington Junction
Hillcrest
Lytle
Mesta
South Park
Munroe
Sarah
Logan
King's School
Beagle
Sandy Creek
West Library
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.

History

The line from South Hills Junction to Castle Shannon (now called the Overbrook Line) was first constructed by the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad (P&CSRR) between 1872 and 1874.[1] In 1905 Pittsburgh Railways leased the route and between 1909 and 1910 converted it from narrow gauge to dual gauge and installed overhead power for trolleys. South of Washington Junction the line split into two branches, one going southwest towards Washington, Pennsylvania (a portion of which remains as part of the current Red Line), and the other south towards Finleyville, Pennsylvania, later extended to Monongahela with two further branches to Donora and Charleroi, respectively, the latter would be later extended to Roscoe.[2]

In 1953, the Roscoe and Donora branches were eliminated, and the trunk line to Monongahela was cut back to the current terminus in Library. This route was designated as 35 Shannon-Library by Pittsburgh Railways Company, and redesignated as 47L Library via Overbrook by successor Port Authority in the 1980s during the Stage I reconstruction of the streetcar system into light rail.[3] In 1988, a derailment forced the Port Authority to retire all of the PCC cars that had not been rebuilt into the 4000-series, leaving only the twelve 4000 PCC's and four "Super 17's" available to serve the Overbrook, Library, and Drake lines, thus necessitating the use of LRV's on at least one of these lines to maintain service. Of the three, the Library line was found to be the best suited to accommodate the larger LRV's with only minor modifications, and the route was modified and redesignated in December, 1988 as the "42L Library via Beechview", which, as the name states, originates on the Library branch, but transverses the Beechview corridor between Castle Shannon and South Hills Junction, as the Overbrook corridor could not accommodate the LRV's.

Between 1999 and 2004, Port Authority undertook a complete reconstruction of the deteriorated Overbrook corridor. During this time, the Lytle stop along the Library branch was rebuilt into a high level platform station, and the terminal of the branch was rebuilt. South of West Library, the stops at Hicks and Pleasant Street were eliminated, and Simmons was replaced with the current Library Station.

The Overbrook corridor 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.[4] At this time, the 42L route was reverted to the 47L to serve the rebuilt line.

The Port Authority closed five stations along the Library branch on June 25, 2012: Martin Villa, Mine 3, Lindermer, Center and Latimer.[5] Other former Library branch stops that were closed include Latimer, Logan, and Leonard. As part of the Authority's new color-coding route system, the 47L was redesignated as Blue Line - Library.

On March 15, 2020, the Library branch of the Blue Line was renamed the Silver Line.[6][7]

Route

The Silver Line starts at Allegheny station on the North Shore, makes an additional stop at North Side, then proceeds under the Allegheny River and continues underground to Gateway Center, 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 the Silver Line rejoins the Beechview line and the former Brown Line, which ran over Mount Washington through the Allentown neighborhood. The Silver 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 Silver Line runs south through Willow and ends at Library in South Park.

Station list

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.

NameMiles[8]Station TypeOther servicesMunicipality
Allegheny Disabled access0.00high platform     Blue Line,      Red LinePittsburgh / Chateau
North Side Disabled access0.51undergroundPittsburgh / North Shore
Gateway Center Disabled access1.00Pittsburgh / Central Business District
Wood Street Disabled access1.26
Steel Plaza Disabled access1.55
First Avenue Disabled access1.88high platform
Station Square Disabled access2.41     Blue Line,      Red Line,      South Busway, Monongahela Incline Monongahela InclinePittsburgh / South Shore
South Hills Junction Disabled access3.25     Blue Line,      Red Line,      South BuswayPittsburgh / Mt. Washington
Boggs Disabled access3.66     Blue LinePittsburgh / Beltzhoover
Bon Air Disabled access4.30Pittsburgh / Bon Air
Denise Disabled access5.09Pittsburgh / Carrick
South Bank Disabled access5.49     Blue Line,      South BuswayPittsburgh / Overbrook
McNeilly Disabled access6.73     Blue LineBaldwin Township
Killarney Disabled access7.06Castle Shannon
Memorial Hall Disabled access7.76
Willow Disabled access8.31
St. Anne's8.69low platform     Blue Line,      Red Line
Smith Road8.97
Washington Junction Disabled access9.21high platformBethel Park
Hillcrest9.77low platform
Lytle Disabled access10.64high platform
Mesta10.82low platform
South Park11.03
Munroe11.38
Sarah11.90
Logan12.23
King's School12.46
Beagle12.99
Sandy Creek13.26
West Library Disabled access13.45high platform
Library Disabled access14.13South Park

References

  1. "Historic American Engineering Record - Pittsburgh & Castle Shannon Railroad, Reflectorville Viaduct, Overbrook Trolley Line, crossing near Edgebrook Av, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, PA". Retrieved March 20, 2010.
  2. "The Interurbans".
  3. "Pittsburghtransit.info - The Routes - PCC Operation". 28 August 2005. Retrieved 9 August 2009.
  4. JW, RAH (July 1, 2004). "Five cities dedicate light rail lines". Railway Gazette. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  5. "Eleven T Stops Close June 25". Port Authority of Allegheny County. June 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  6. "Port Authority to rename a light rail service to Silver Line Library".
  7. PortAuthority.org. "Blue / Silver line schedule" (PDF). Port Authority of Allegheny County. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  8. "PAAC System Map". Port Authority.
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