Silver Line (Pittsburgh)

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
Daily ridership	6,545 (2018)
Technical
Track gauge	5 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,588 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route map Legend 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

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.

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		Pittsburgh / North Shore
Gateway Center	1.00			Pittsburgh / Central Business District
Wood Street	1.26
Steel Plaza	1.55
First Avenue	1.88	high platform
Station Square	2.41		Blue Line,      Red Line,      South Busway, Monongahela Incline	Pittsburgh / South Shore
South Hills Junction	3.25		Blue Line,      Red Line,      South Busway	Pittsburgh / Mt. Washington
Boggs	3.66		Blue Line	Pittsburgh / Beltzhoover
Bon Air	4.30			Pittsburgh / Bon Air
Denise	5.09			Pittsburgh / Carrick
South Bank	5.49		Blue Line,      South Busway	Pittsburgh / Overbrook
McNeilly	6.73		Blue Line	Baldwin Township
Killarney	7.06			Castle Shannon
Memorial Hall	7.76
Willow	8.31
St. Anne's	8.69	low platform	Blue Line,      Red Line
Smith Road	8.97
Washington Junction	9.21	high platform		Bethel Park
Hillcrest	9.77	low platform
Lytle	10.64	high platform
Mesta	10.82	low platform
South Park	11.03
Munroe	11.38
Sarah	11.90
Logan	12.23
King's School	12.46
Beagle	12.99
Sandy Creek	13.26
West Library	13.45	high platform
Library	14.13			South Park

References[]

External links[]

Route map:

• Silver Line schedule