Silver Line (Pittsburgh)

The Silver Line is the renamed service for the former Pittsburgh Light Rail Blue Line - Library branch that runs between Downtown Pittsburgh via the Overbrook neighborhood to Library.

Silver Line
A Silver Line train is a rename of a Blue Line train like this one
Overview
Owner	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Locale	Pittsburgh
Stations	31
Service
Type	Light rail
System	Pittsburgh Light Rail
Operator(s)	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Depot(s)	South Hills Village Rail Center
Rolling stock	Siemens SD-400, CAF LRV
Technical
Track gauge	5 ft 2 ^1⁄2 in (1,588 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route map Allegheny           North Side Allegheny River Gateway Wood Street Penn Station occasional use Steel Plaza Panhandle Tunnel First Avenue I-376 / US 22 / US 30 Penn Lincoln Parkway Panhandle Bridge over Monongahela River Station Square Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel South Hills Junction ■ Red Line Boggs Bon Air Denise South Bank McNeilly Pittsburgh Castle Shannon Killarney Memorial Hall ■ Overbrook Junction | Willow St. Anne's Smith Road Castle Shannon Bethel Park Washington Junction ■ Blue Line / ■ Red Line to South Hills Village Hillcrest Lytle Mesta South Park Munroe Sarah Logan King's School Beagle Sandy Creek Bethel Park South Park West Library Library

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.

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 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.[2]

The Port Authority closed five stations along the Library branch on June 25, 2012: Martin Villa, Mine 3, Lindermer, Center and Latimer.[3] Other former Library branch stops include Latimer, Logan, Leonard, Hicks and Pleasant Street.

On March 15, 2020, the Library branch of the Blue Line was renamed the “Silver Line”.[4][5]

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.

Name	Miles[6]	Station Type	Other services	Municipality
Allegheny	0.00	high platform	Blue Line,      Red Line	Pittsburgh / Chateau
North Side	0.51	underground	Blue Line,      Red Line	Pittsburgh / North Shore
Gateway Center	1.00	underground	Blue Line,      Red Line	Pittsburgh / Central Business District
Wood Street	1.26	underground	Blue Line,      Red Line	Pittsburgh / Central Business District
Steel Plaza	1.55	underground	Blue Line,      Red Line	Pittsburgh / Central Business District
First Avenue	1.88	high platform	Blue Line,      Red Line	Pittsburgh / Central Business District
Station Square	2.41	high platform	Blue Line,      Red Line,      South Busway, Monongahela Incline	Pittsburgh / South Shore
South Hills Junction	3.25	high platform	Blue Line,      Red Line,      South Busway	Pittsburgh / Mt. Washington
Boggs	3.66	high platform	Blue Line	Pittsburgh / Beltzhoover
Bon Air	4.30	high platform	Blue Line	Pittsburgh / Bon Air
Denise	5.09	high platform	Blue Line	Pittsburgh / Carrick
South Bank	5.49	high platform	Blue Line,      South Busway	Pittsburgh / Overbrook
McNeilly	6.73	high platform	Blue Line	Pittsburgh / Overbrook
Killarney	7.06	high platform	Blue Line	Castle Shannon
Memorial Hall	7.76	high platform	Blue Line	Castle Shannon
Willow	8.31	high platform	Blue Line	Castle Shannon
St. Anne's	8.69	low platform	Blue Line,      Red Line (Limited)	Castle Shannon
Smith Road	8.97	low platform	Blue Line,      Red Line (Limited)	Castle Shannon
Washington Junction	9.21	high platform	Blue Line,      Red Line (Limited)	Bethel Park
Hillcrest	9.77	low platform		Bethel Park
Lytle	10.64	high platform		Bethel Park
Mesta	10.82	low platform		Bethel Park
South Park	11.03	low platform		Bethel Park
Munroe	11.38	low platform		Bethel Park
Sarah	11.90	low platform		Bethel Park
Logan	12.23	low platform		Bethel Park
King's School	12.46	low platform		Bethel Park
Beagle	12.99	low platform		Bethel Park
Sandy Creek	13.26	low platform		Bethel Park
West Library	13.45	high platform		South Park
Library	14.13	high platform		South 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. JW, RAH (July 1, 2004). "Five cities dedicate light rail lines". Railway Gazette. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
3. "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.
4. "Port Authority to rename a light rail service to Silver Line Library".
5. PortAuthority.org. "Blue / Silver line schedule" (PDF). Port Authority of Allegheny County. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
6. "PAAC System Map". Port Authority.

External links

• Silver Line schedule