RTA Rapid Transit (generally known as The Rapid) is a rapid transit and light rail system owned and operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. The system serves Cleveland and surrounding areas in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. It consists of four total service lines: one rapid transit rail line and three light rail lines.
Rail lines The four rail lines join at Tower City Center in downtown Cleveland, on the platform level of the former Cleveland Union Terminal.
Three rail lines share their tracks at Tri-C–Campus District and East 55th stations. This sharing of one route by light and heavy rail trains is quite unusual. The shared stations have connected platforms of two heights to accommodate the two kinds of trains. And the two types of trains both use the same maintenance facility since they both use the same track gauge and same source of power (overhead catenary).
Red Line
The Red Line, a heavy-rail route, runs in both directions on fully grade-separated rights-of-way built from 1955 to 1968. It serves Cleveland's southwest suburbs, with its southwestern terminus at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Heading northeast, the Red Line serves University Circle before heading to its northeastern terminus at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in East Cleveland.
Blue, Green, and Waterfront Lines
The Blue and Green light-rail lines (alternatively known as the RTA Shaker Rapid) were built from 1913 to 1936 as grade-separated lines closer to downtown and surface lines along street medians in the streetcar suburb of Shaker Heights.
The two lines diverge at Shaker Square, a historic mixed-use community in Cleveland proper, just west of the Shaker Heights border. The Blue Line veers southeast along Van Aken Boulevard until reaching its terminus near the intersection of Warrensville Center Road and Chagrin Boulevard (U.S. Route 422 and State Route 8). The Green Line continues due east along Shaker Boulevard (State Route 87) until reaching its terminus at the intersection of Green Road.
The Waterfront Line, opened in 1996, extends the Blue and Green Lines from Tower City north through The Flats. It then travels northeast along the shoreline of Lake Erie, servicing the local Amtrak station and terminates at the Lakefront Municipal lot. The Waterfront light rail line provides access from Tower City Center to the Flats, Cleveland Browns Stadium, the Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Burke Lakefront Airport.
Stations
The RTA Rapid Transit system consists of a total of 47 stations.RTA system maps The stations are fully or partially within the city limits of Cleveland, Shaker Heights, East Cleveland, and Brook Park.
†* Terminus and transfer stations† Terminal stations* Transfer stations Closed stations
StationRapid Transit linesJurisdictionOpenedRebuiltADA access† Cleveland 1968 1994 1994 Cleveland 1997 Shaker Heights 1920 1981 Shaker Heights 1913 1980 Shaker Heights 1920 1981 Shaker Heights 1936 1980 Cleveland / Brook Park 1969 2017 2003* Cleveland 1920 1981, 2012 2012 Cleveland 1955 2014 2002 Shaker Heights 1915 1980 Cleveland / Shaker Heights 1913 1980 Cleveland 1948 1981 Cleveland 1996 1996* Cleveland 1920 2011 2011 Cleveland 1955 20212021* Cleveland 1920 1981 Cleveland 1955 2005 2005* Cleveland 1920 1981, 2019 2019 Shaker Heights 1915 1980 Cleveland 1955 Shaker Heights 1930 1981, 2019 2019 Cleveland 1996 1996† Shaker Heights 1936 1980, 1988 2001 Shaker Heights 1920 1981 Shaker Heights 1913 1980, 2017 2017 Shaker Heights 1920 1981, 2015 2015 Cleveland 2015 2015 Shaker Heights 1920 1981 Shaker Heights 1920 1980 Cleveland 1968 2011 2011 Cleveland 1996 1996* Cleveland 1920 1986 2006† Cleveland 1996 1996 Shaker Heights 1913 1980 Cleveland / Shaker Heights 1920 1981 Shaker Heights 1920 1980 Shaker Heights 1913 1981 East Cleveland 1955 1996 1996†* Cleveland 1930 1990 1990* Cleveland 1930 2003, 2018 2018 Cleveland 1958 2000 2000 Shaker Heights 1928 1980, 2016 2016† Shaker Heights 1930 1981, 1999 1999 Cleveland 1999 1999 Cleveland 1955 1992 1992 Cleveland 1955 2004 2004 Cleveland 1955 2007 2007 Cleveland 1955 1999 1999 Shaker Heights 1936 1980 Cleveland 1958 1996 1996†* East Cleveland 1955 1997 1997 Note: Euclid–East 120th Street station closed in 2015 and was replaced by Little Italy–University Circle station.
See also List of metro systems List of light rail transit systems List of rail transit systems in the United States List of Ohio train stations
References
External links
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority – Maps and Schedules
Jon Bell – Cleveland, Ohio: Transit Links Cleveland, Ohio – Rapid Transit (RTA) nycsubway.org – Cleveland, Ohio RTA Rapid Transit Locations Northern Ohio Railway Museum