RTA Rapid Transit


RTA Rapid Transit 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. 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 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.

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 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. The Green Line continues due east along Shaker Boulevard until reaching its terminus at the intersection of Green Road.
File:RTA Green Line train.png|right|thumb|Light rail vehicle on the Waterfront Line
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.

Ridership

Stations

The RTA Rapid Transit system consists of a total of 47 stations. 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
†Cleveland196819941994
Cleveland1997
Shaker Heights19201981
Shaker Heights19131980
Shaker Heights19201981
Shaker Heights19361980
Cleveland / Brook Park196920172003
* Cleveland19201981, 20122012
Cleveland195520142002
Shaker Heights19151980
Cleveland / Shaker Heights19131980
Cleveland19481981
Cleveland19961996
* Cleveland192020112011
Cleveland195520212021
* Cleveland19201981
Cleveland195520052005
* Cleveland19201981, 20192019
Shaker Heights19151980
Cleveland1955
Shaker Heights19301981, 20192019
Cleveland19961996
†Shaker Heights19361980, 19882001
Shaker Heights19201981
Shaker Heights19131980, 20172017
Shaker Heights19201981, 20152015
Cleveland20152015
Shaker Heights19201981
Shaker Heights19201980
Cleveland196820112011
Cleveland19961996
* Cleveland192019862006
†Cleveland19961996
Shaker Heights19131980
Cleveland / Shaker Heights19201981
Shaker Heights19201980
Shaker Heights19131981
East Cleveland195519961996
†* Cleveland193019901990
* Cleveland19302003, 20182018
Cleveland195820002000
Shaker Heights19281980, 20162016
†Shaker Heights19301981, 19991999
Cleveland19991999
Cleveland195519921992
Cleveland195520042004
Cleveland195520072007
Cleveland195519991999
Shaker Heights19361980
Cleveland195819961996
†*East Cleveland195519971997

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