The 52 Allentown operates every hour between South Hills Junction via downtown Allentown into downtown Pittsburgh. This Route does NOT serve Station Square. It is my personal favorite.

Some History...

In October 1981 Port Authority began construction on its first "modern" light rail/subway service, the "T", which used an old trolley route to connect downtown Pittsburgh to the South Hills Village area. The "T" began operating in 1987 over the "Beechview" line. This was a former streetcar line that had been rehabilitated to accommodate light rail vehicles. This line was reconstructed (being completely double tracked) and routed from the South Hills Junction (PAT station) through the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel, emerging at a newly constructed station at Station Square before crossing the Monongahela river on the Panhandle Bridge (a former railway bridge), which then led into a newly built downtown (cut and cover tunnel) subway with four stations. Upon completion of the subway, all former streetcar lines were removed from the surface streets of downtown Pittsburgh vastly improving the chronic traffic congestion.

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. In June 2004, the Overbrook line re-opened as a fully-rebuilt double-tracked line served by modern light rail vehicles. The "T" is most heavily used in four stations downtown (three of which are underground), where service is free of charge.

The South Hills Village Rail Center (SHVRC) is located at the end of 42S and 47S lines at South Hills Village Mall. All of the revenue light rail vehicles (LRVs) and some Maintenance of Way vehicles are stored there. Until 1999, all the old PCC cars were stored there.

Active Lines

The "T" runs on two lines north of Washington Junction, the "Beechview" and "Overbrook" lines, over which a number of different services operate:

42S South Hills Village (via Beechview)
Main article: 42 South Hills Village

The 42 South Hills Village (42S) runs between South Hills Village and Downtown Pittsburgh via the Beechview neighborhood. A companion route, the 47 South Hills Village, branches off at Overbrook Junction and runs through Overbrook. In March 2007, the closure of the Palm Garden Bridge for refurbishment suspended the 42S for five months; it re-opened in September 2007.

47L Library (via Overbrook)

Service begins very far south of downtown in the Library neighborhood of South Park, Pennsylvania. Fifteen stops serve Library, Bethel Park, and South Park before merging with the South Hills Village line at Washington Junction. The line splits again before Overbrook Junction station on the Beechview line, as the 47L instead follows the Overbrook line. The line then makes eight well-spaced stops on its arc through the Overbrook and Bon Air neighborhoods of southern Pittsburgh. The line merges with the Beechview line at South Hills Junction before entering the Mt. Washington Transit Tunnel. The remaining stations are at Station Square, First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street, and Gateway Center.

47 South Hills Village ("Via Overbrook")

In 2005, the Port Authority opened a new parking garage at the South Hills Village station. The 47S line was established in an effort to relieve congestion on the Beechview line for the additional traffic that the parking garage created. The 47S route follows the 42S service until Overbrook Junction where it switches to the Overbrook line. It follows the Overbrook line to South Hills Junction where it reunites with the Beechview line before entering downtown.

52 Allentown

The 52 Allentown (often abbreviated as the 52A) is a service on the Pittsburgh Light Rail system that runs from South Hills Junction over Mount Washington and across the Monongahela River to downtown Pittsburgh, terminating at Gateway Center.

This line is much smaller and runs less frequently than the 42S or 47S and 47L, providing service to the Allentown neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where dense housing and the hilly terrain make automobile transportation very limited–some area streets cannot be used at all during the winter. Service begins at South Hills Junction, heading for Warrington Avenue. The 52 parallels Warrington in an easterly direction until Arlington Avenue, where it follows the sharply bending street until it is running northwesterly. It uses the same bridge into the downtown as the 42 and 47 services, stopping at First Avenue, Steel Plaza, Wood Street, and Gateway Center, but it does not stop at Station Square because it approaches the bridge from the southeast, while Station Square is southwest of the bridge.

Discontinued Lines

47D Drake

When light rail service began, PCC trolley service continued from Drake north through Castle Shannon along the Overbrook line to downtown. All downtown platforms incorporated both low- and high-level platforms enabling them to handle both types of vehicles. When safety concerns prompted the closure of the Overbrook line in 1993 the Drake line was cut back to Castle Shannon. In September of 1999 PAT withdrew the four remaining active-service PCCs from service and closed the Drake line altogether.

Fleet

Port Authority operates a fleet of 83 LRVs as of October 2005:

4101-4155: (Siemens SD-400) (1985)
4301-4328: (CAF LRV) (2003-2004)
4201-4255: (Except for some unrebuilt ones) (Rebuilt by CAF, ex-Siemens SD400s) (2005-2006)

Trains are generally run in a two car configuration. The routes have sections that have a dedicated right of way as well as mixed sections that run along roadways with automobile traffic. Generally, stations along roadways have low level platforms while stops along the dedicated rights of way have high level platforms. To allow easy boarding in both situations, the trains have two sets of doors at the front, with a low set and a staircase as well as a high set with level access from the platform to the train.

Future extensions

North Shore Connector Project

Since January 1999, the Port Authority of Allegheny County has undertaken environmental analysis, planning, design and engineering of a light rail line to connect Pittsburgh's Downtown and North Shore.

The main project involves twin bored tunnels below the Allegheny River to connect a refurbished Gateway Station, which is the current Downtown terminus, to a "North Side Station", located just west of PNC Park and an "Allegheny Station" located just west of Heinz Field. The North Side Station will serve PNC Park, the Andy Warhol Museum, Allegheny Center and numerous office buildings in the vicinity. The Allegheny Station will serve Heinz Field, the Carnegie Science Center, the National Aviary, the Community College of Allegheny County, the future Rivers Casino which should open in 2009, and other nearby businesses.

Unexpectedly high bids from construction companies had stalled construction, originally scheduled to begin in Fall 2005. The entire project is budgeted at $435 million, with approximately 80% ($348 million) coming from the Federal Transit Administration. The Port Authority began construction in October 2006, and the North Shore Connector should be completed and operational in 2011.

More to Come!