The Waterfront Line is a

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 ...

line of the

RTA Rapid Transit 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 (GCRTA). The system serves Cleveland and surrounding areas in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, ...

system in

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 ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, running from

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, then north and northeast to station, adjacent to the Cleveland Municipal Parking Lot. The Waterfront Line is the newest rail line in Cleveland, having opened in 1996. The 2.2 mile (3.5 km) line is unique in that it is an extension of the

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

and

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

lines, but has its own naming designation. All RTA light rail lines use

overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...

and pantographs to draw power. Due to safety concerns, the line was closed from 2021-2023, but has since been re-opened, providing service on weekends, holidays, and for special events.

History

The line opened on July 10, 1996, coinciding with Cleveland's bicentennial celebration which took place later in the year. The line had a total cost of $70.9 million and was funded by a combination of bonds, grant money from the

Ohio Department of Transportation The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT; ) is the administrative department of the government of Ohio, Ohio state government responsible for developing and maintaining all state and U.S. roadways outside of municipalities and all List of In ...

, and local RTA funding. Service on the Waterfront Line was suspended indefinitely in 2021, after previously being suspended in October 2020. Plans called for opening in time for the 2023

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

season. On September 10, 2023, rail service resumed on the Waterfront Line.

Route description

From South Harbor, the lines extends generally west-southwest adjacent to the former

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

tracks, now owned by

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. Notable destinations along the line include 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

Cleveland Browns Stadium Huntington Bank Field is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and serves as a venue for other events such as college and high school football, soccer, hockey, and con ...

. Trains will stop at

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

's Cleveland Lakefront Station upon request. The line continues along an elevated loop, allowing it to turn from west-southwest to south-southeast, cross over the Norfolk Southern tracks and travel along the east bank of

The Flats The Flats is a mixed-use industrial, recreational, entertainment, and residential area of the Cuyahoga Valley neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. The name reflects its low-lying topography on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. History Early ...

. The route passes through three grade crossings. The line then turns east and climbs up from The Flats in two cuts on either side of the Red Line. It merges onto the Red Line tracks and travels through . Through service between the Waterfront Line and the Blue and Green Lines is provided at Tower City. From April 2010 through May 2013, RTA completely eliminated weekday regularly scheduled Waterfront Line service due to low ridership and trains ran on the line only on weekends and for special events. Though seven-day-a-week service on the line was restored, a number of trains continue to use Tower City as a western terminus. Tower City is the major station on all RTA Rapid Transit lines. It is the main station serving downtown Cleveland and it provides a convenient transfer point between the Red Line and the Blue and Green Lines.

Service

The Waterfront Line has been closed since September of 2021 due to safety concerns regarding a bridge near the East Bank of the Flats. As of August 2024, the line provides service on weekends and holidays, and for some special events.

Rail replacement bus

During rail shutdowns, RTA uses replacement buses signed as route 67R. These shuttle buses run between Tower City and South Harbor on surface streets.

Stations

Settlers Landing Cleveland RTA station 1

All stations are located within

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 ...

References

External links

Routes - Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority - RailJon Bell - Cleveland, Ohio: The Waterfront Line
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Northern Ohio Railway Museum Northern Ohio Railway Museum is a railroad museum located near Chippewa Lake, Ohio, United States. The museum is a non-profit, educational organization. It was established in 1965, granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service in 1966 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waterfront Line (RTA Rapid Transit) Light rail in Ohio Standard-gauge railways in the United States 600 V DC railway electrification Railway lines opened in 1996 1996 establishments in Ohio