RTA Rapid Transit (generally known as The Rapid) is a

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

and

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 National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system owned and operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA). The system serves

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and surrounding areas in

Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or , see ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The county seat and most populous city is Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,264,817, making it the second ...

. The system currently 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 Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, in its Public Square, Cleveland, Public Square. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including Terminal Tower, the Skylight Park mi ...

downtown Cleveland Downtown Cleveland is the central business district of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The economic and cultural center of the city and the Cleveland metropolitan area, it is Cleveland's oldest district, with its Public Square, Cleveland, Publi ...

, 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 In physics and geometry, a catenary ( , ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or wire rope, cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, ...

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 University Circle is a district in the neighborhood of University on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. It is home to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance Hall (home to the Cleveland Orchestra), the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland ...

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 A streetcar suburb is a residential community whose growth and development was strongly shaped by the use of streetcar lines as a primary means of transportation. Such suburbs developed in the United States in the years before the automobile, when ...

Shaker Heights Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cockta ...

. The two lines part ways at

Shaker Square Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

, 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. RTA Green Line train

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 Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

, 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 Great Lakes Science Center is a science museum, museum and educational facility in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The center's exhibits focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) concepts. Opening in July 1996, the fac ...

, the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

, and Burke Lakefront Airport.

Stations

The RTA Rapid Transit system consists of a total of 47 stations.RTA system maps
/ref> The stations are fully or partially within the city limits of

, East Cleveland, and Brook Park. ''Note: Euclid–East 120th Street station closed in 2015 and was replaced by Little Italy–University Circle station.''

References

External links

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority – Maps and Schedules
*
Jon Bell – Cleveland, Ohio: Transit Linksnycsubway.org – Cleveland, OhioRTA Rapid Transit Locations
* Northern Ohio Railway Museum {{USLightRail Rapid transit in Ohio Historic American Engineering Record in Ohio Light rail in Ohio Lists of metro stations * Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Lists of Ohio railway stations