The
Red Line (
Route 66) is a
rapid transit line of the
RTA Rapid Transit in
Cleveland, Ohio, running from
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport northeast to
Tower City in
downtown Cleveland, then east and northeast to
Windermere. 2.6 miles (4.2 km) of track, including two stations (
East 34th-Campus and
East 55th), are shared with the
light rail Blue and
Green Lines; the stations have high platforms for the Red Line and low platforms for the Blue and Green Lines. The whole Red Line is built next to current or former freight or intercity passenger railroads. It uses
overhead lines and
pantographs to draw power.
History
The corridor along which the Red Line runs had been planned for use since before 1930, when the
Cleveland Union Terminal opened. The first short section, between East 34th and East 55th Streets, was in use by the
Cleveland Interurban Railroad in 1920, and in 1930 the line between East 34th and the Union Terminal was completed. It was not until March 15, 1955 that the eastern half of the Red Line opened, from the existing line near East 55th northeast next to the
New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) to Windermere. The line from downtown southwest to West 117th Street opened August 15; this line ran next to the Nickel Plate to the crossing of the
New York Central Railroad near West 101st Street, and then next to the New York Central. On November 15, 1958, an extension to
West Park opened, and the final section, continuing to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, opened in 1968, the first
airport rail link in North America.
Schedule
The Red Line runs from approximately 4:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. daily. Trains run about every 20 minutes during most times, with extra service provided between Brookpark and Tower City during rush hours. (Service to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is provided by # 75 buses between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m.)
Fare collection
Effective September 1, 2009, the one-way cash fare on the RTA Rapid Transit is $2.25. A five-trip fare card can be purchased for $11.25. An All-Day pass, allowing unlimited riding on the rapid transit as well as on RTA buses is $5.00 ($2.50 for children). Weekly and monthly passes are also available, and there are discounted fares for seniors and disabled.
Many of the stations formerly had a secure turnstile system as well as staffed agent booths, but RTA removed them in 2009 at all but two stations in favor of a proof-of-payment system.
Before boarding, passengers must either purchase (and thereby activate) an All Day Pass or 1-ride or 2-ride farecard or swipe and activate their pre-purchased farecard/pass at a ticket vending machine (TVM). Higher volume stations have customer service kiosks where passengers may purchase a full range of RTA fare media. Once their pass/farecard has been activated, passengers are permitted to enter the station's "fare paid zone" which is clearly marked by signage at each station. While in the fare paid zone, as well as while on the train, passengers are subject to random checks by RTA Transit Police to ensure that each person has paid a fare. Violators are subject to criminal prosecution.
At downtown's Tower City Station, the sole remaining station on the line where passengers consistently pass through secure turnstiles, departing riders must swipe their pass/farecard at the gate to gain access to the platform and arriving passengers must swipe their proof of payment card to exit the station. The cars have three sets of doors on each side, one in the center and one at each end adjacent to the operator cab. The cars' exteriors originally had orange and red stripes along the sides, but these stripes were removed when RTA changed to a red, white and blue color scheme. Twenty of the cars are operable in single units, and they are numbered as 181-200. The other 40 cars are operable in pairs, and they are numbered as 301-340.
, the current fleet of Red Line cars is undergoing an in-house rehabilitation under the direction of former director of rail Michael Couse. The fleet will be pared down from 60 to 40 cars, with the remaining 20 being scrapped. The cars will be overhauled over the course of 3-5 years using federal grant money. Cars will receive new pantographs and controllers, along with rebuilt trucks, traction motors, resistor banks, and air conditioning systems. Fewer than 30 of the 60 cars are in running condition.
The current cars represent the third generation of cars that have been used on the line. The line opened using a fleet of shorter cars manufactured by the St. Louis Car Company in 1954 and 1955. The cars were 48½ feet (14.8 m) long with blue and gray exteriors and are often referred to as "Blue Birds." They were virtually identical to the cars built by St. Louis Car at the same time for MBTA's Blue Line. Twelve cars were operable as single units with cabs at each end, and 56 cars operable as pairs. The single units were numbered as 101–112, and the paired units as 201–256. Additional cars in this fleet were purchased in 1958 when the line was extended to West Park. These comprised six additional single unit cars (numbers 113–118) and 14 additional double unit cars (numbers 257–270).
When the extension to Hopkins Airport was being built in 1967, a fleet of 20 longer cars was purchased to supplement and replace the Blue Birds. These second generation cars, numbered as 151–170, were 72 feet (22 m) long and were built by Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company. The cars, which had a stainless steel exterior with red and white trim and featured interior luggage racks, were promoted as "Airporters." The Airporters supplanted the Blue Birds, except during rush hour when extra cars were needed. In 1970, ten additional Airporters were purchased, numbered as 171–180. With the purchase of the Tokyu cars in 1985, all Airporters and Blue Birds were retired.
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Pop culture references
The Red Line is prominently featured in the final scenes of the film
Proximity, starring
Rob Lowe and
James Coburn. The finale involves a hostage on a Red Line train and a gunfight and chase scene through the Tower City station.
Station stops
The Red Line makes the following station stops from west to east (stations are listed along with indications of their accessibility, availability of free parking, travel time to Tower City, and opening date for Red Line service):
{| class="wikitable"
!width=144| Station Name
!width=22 |
!width=22 |
!width=50 | Time
!width=124| Opened
!width=124| Rebuilt
|-
|align=left |
Airport
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 26 min
|align=left | November 15, 1968
|align=left | May 1994
|-
|align=left |
Brookpark
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 22 min
|align=left | April 20, 1969
|align=left | Planned
|-
|align=left |
Puritas
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 19 min
|align=left | November 15, 1968
|align=left | Under construction
|-
|align=left |
West Park
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 17 min
|align=left | November 15, 1958
|align=left | May 1996
|-
|align=left |
Triskett
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 15 min
|align=left | November 15, 1958
|align=left | November 15, 2000
|-
|align=left |
West 117th–Madison
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 13 min
|align=left | August 14, 1955
|align=left | October 16, 2007
|-
|align=left |
West Blvd.–Cudell
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 10 min
|align=left | August 14, 1955
|align=left | April 1999
|-
|align=left |
West 65th–Lorain
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center|7 min
|align=left | August 14, 1955
|align=left | September 21, 2004
|-
|align=left |
West 25th–Ohio City
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center|4 min
|align=left | August 14, 1955
|align=left | September 1992
|-
|align=left |
Tower City
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center|0 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|align=left | December 17, 1990
|-
|align=left |
East 34th–Campus
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 4 min
|align=left | March 1, 1971
|align=left | August 18, 2003
|-
|align=left |
East 55th
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center|6 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|align=left | Under construction
|-
|align=left |
East 79th
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center|9 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|aligh=left | —
|-
|align=left |
East 105th–Quincy
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 12 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|align=left | November 4, 2005
|-
|align=left |
University Circle
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 14 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|align=left | Planned
|-
|align=left |
Euclid–East 120th
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 16 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|align=left | Planned to close and be moved to new location
|-
|align=left |
Superior
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 18 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|align=left | September 1996
|-
|align=left |
Stokes/Windermere
|align=center|
|align=center|
|align=center| 20 min
|align=left | March 15, 1955
|align=left | June 22, 1997
|}
Notes
References
U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980 (PDF)
nycsubway.org - Cleveland, Ohio
External links
Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority - Maps and Schedules
Jon Bell - Cleveland, Ohio: Red Line
Northern Ohio Railway Museum
Category:Cleveland RTA
Category:RTA Rapid Transit
Category:Rapid transit in the United States
Cleveland
