Blue Line – Library

Blue Line - Library
Overview
Type	Light rail
Locale	Pittsburgh
Operation
Owner	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Operator(s)	Port Authority of Allegheny County
Technical
Track gauge	5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm)
Electrification	Overhead lines
Route map Map of the "T" light rail system

Pittsburgh Light Rail 47D
Legend
Allegheny              North Side              Allegheny River Gateway Center              Wood Street              Penn Station occasional use Steel Plaza              First Avenue              Monongahela River Brown Line Station Square          Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel Brown Line South Hills Junction              Red Line Boggs      Bon Air      Denise      South Bank      McNeilly      Pittsburgh Castle Shannon Killarney      Linden Grove      Memorial Hall      Willow      Red Line St. Anne's      Smith Road      Castle Shannon Bethel Park Washington Junction          Red Line Hillcrest Lytle Mesta South Park Munroe Sarah Logan King's School Beagle Sandy Creek Bethel Park South Park West Library Library

The Blue Line – Library (formerly the 47L Library via Overbrook) is a line on the Pittsburgh Light Rail system that runs between Library and Downtown Pittsburgh via the Overbrook neighborhood.

Route

The line begins in Library in South Park and runs north to Willow through Bethel Park, providing a transfer to the Red Line, which runs via Beechview. The Blue Line – Library continues north through Overbrook, Brookline, Carrick, Bon Air, and Beltzhoover. At South Hills Junction the Blue Line – Library rejoins the Beechview line and the Brown Line, which runs over Mount Washington through the Allentown neighborhood. The Blue Line – Library runs through the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel, stopping at Station Square before crossing the Monongahela River on the Panhandle Bridge. Reaching downtown at First Avenue, the Blue Line – Library proceeds underground to Steel Plaza, Wood Street and Gateway Center. Upon reaching Gateway, the route then proceeds under the Allegheny River and makes additional stops at North Side and Allegheny stations on the North Shore.

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. 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 run over 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 favour of 8 new LRV style stations with platforms.

The Port Authority closed five stations along the Blue Line on June 25, 2012: Martin Villa, Mine 3, Lindermer, Center and Latimer.

Stations

Station Name	Station Type	Other Services	Municipality
Library	high level		South Park
West Library	high level		South Park
Sandy Creek	street level		Bethel Park
Beagle	street level		Bethel Park
King's School	street level		Bethel Park
Logan	street level		Bethel Park
Sarah	street level		Bethel Park
Munroe	street level		Bethel Park
South Park	street level		Bethel Park
Mesta	street level		Bethel Park
Lytle	high level		Bethel Park
Hillcrest	street level		Bethel Park
Washington Junction	high level	Red Line, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Bethel Park
Smith Road	street level	Red Line	Castle Shannon
St. Anne's	street level	Red Line	Castle Shannon
Willow	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Castle Shannon
Memorial Hall	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Castle Shannon
Linden Grove (closed)	street level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Castle Shannon
Killarney	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Castle Shannon
McNeilly	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
South Bank	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Denise	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Bon Air	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Boggs	high level	Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
South Hills Junction	high level	Red Line, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Station Square	high level	Red Line, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
First Avenue	high level	Red Line, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Steel Plaza	underground	Red Line, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Wood Street	underground	Red Line, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Gateway Center	underground	Red Line, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
North Side	underground	Red Line, Blue Line – Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh
Allegheny	high level	Red Line, Blue Line – Library, Blue Line - South Hills Village	Pittsburgh

External links

• Blue Line - Library via Overbrook schedule effective March 25, 2012
• Blue Line - Library via Overbrook Route Map