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Pittsburgh Light Rail
The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T or the Trolley) is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh, but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the city. The system is largely linear in a north–south direction, with one terminus near Pittsburgh's central business district and two termini in the South Hills. The system is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
The T is one of the surviving first-generation streetcar systems in North America, with the oldest portions of the network dating back to 1903 and the Pittsburgh Railways. It is also one of only three light rail systems in the United States that continues to use the broad 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge on its lines instead of the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 3,104,400.
In the early 1960s, Pittsburgh had the largest surviving streetcar system in the United States, with the privately owned Pittsburgh Railways Company operating more than 600 PCC cars on 41 routes. In 1964 the system was acquired by the Port Authority of Allegheny County, which rapidly converted most routes to buses. By the early 1970s, only a handful of streetcar routes remained, most of which used the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel just south of the Monongahela River to reach the South Hills area.[citation needed]
At that time, Pittsburgh Regional Transit planners were determined to scrap the rail system entirely in favor of busways (now called "BRT" for "Bus Rapid Transit") and an automated guideway transit system developed by Westinghouse Electric called Skybus. Community opposition rallied against the plan and in favor of retaining the electric rail trolley system and upgrading it into modern LRT. In the end, the LRT option was adopted for the South Hills suburbs, along with development of a busway ("BRT") system for the eastern and western suburbs. [citation needed]
The modern subway in downtown Pittsburgh between Steel Plaza and First Avenue stations uses the Pittsburgh & Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel, which began construction in 1863. Rail lines (trolleys) had been a staple of the city and region since the late 19th century, the idea of a downtown to Oakland or East Liberty subway had been considered since at least the 1910s. A public referendum was passed to fund such a subway with an initial investment of $6 million on July 8, 1919, another $5.5 million subway plan was finalized at City Hall in meetings on March 28, 1932, and the public/private Allegheny Conference presented detailed plans and funding for a subway system on June 4, 1947. [citation needed]
Pittsburgh Railways was one of the predecessors to Pittsburgh Regional Transit. It had 666 PCC cars, the third largest fleet in North America. It had 68 street car routes, of which only three (until April 5, 2010 the 42 series, the 47 series, and 52) are used by Pittsburgh Regional Transit as light rail routes. The oldest portions of these old Pittsburgh Railways routes now served by the Pittsburgh Light Rail system date to 1903–1909. With the PRT's Transit Development Plan, many route names will be changed to its original, such as the 41D Brookline becoming the 39 Brookline. Many of the streetcar routes have been remembered in the route names of many Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses (e.g., the 71 series).[citation needed]
1895 to 1905 was a time of consolidation for the numerous street railways serving Pittsburgh. On July 24, 1895, the Consolidated Traction Company was chartered. The following year it acquired the Central Traction Company, Citizens Traction Company, Duquesne Traction Company and Pittsburgh Traction Company and converted them to electric operation. On July 27, 1896, the United Traction Company was chartered and absorbed the Second Avenue Traction Company, which had been running electric cars since 1890.
The Southern Traction Company acquired the lease of the West End Traction Company on October 1, 1900. Pittsburgh Railways was formed on January 1, 1902, when the Southern Traction Company acquired operating rights over the Consolidated Traction Company and United Traction Company. The new company operated 1,100 trolleys on 400 miles (640 km) of track, with 178.7 million passengers and revenues of $6.7 million on the year.
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Pittsburgh Light Rail
The Pittsburgh Light Rail (commonly known as The T or the Trolley) is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) light rail system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and surrounding suburbs. It operates as a deep-level subway in Downtown Pittsburgh, but runs mostly at-grade in the suburbs south of the city. The system is largely linear in a north–south direction, with one terminus near Pittsburgh's central business district and two termini in the South Hills. The system is owned and operated by Pittsburgh Regional Transit.
The T is one of the surviving first-generation streetcar systems in North America, with the oldest portions of the network dating back to 1903 and the Pittsburgh Railways. It is also one of only three light rail systems in the United States that continues to use the broad 5 ft 2+1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) Pennsylvania trolley gauge on its lines instead of the 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 3,104,400.
In the early 1960s, Pittsburgh had the largest surviving streetcar system in the United States, with the privately owned Pittsburgh Railways Company operating more than 600 PCC cars on 41 routes. In 1964 the system was acquired by the Port Authority of Allegheny County, which rapidly converted most routes to buses. By the early 1970s, only a handful of streetcar routes remained, most of which used the Mount Washington Transit Tunnel just south of the Monongahela River to reach the South Hills area.[citation needed]
At that time, Pittsburgh Regional Transit planners were determined to scrap the rail system entirely in favor of busways (now called "BRT" for "Bus Rapid Transit") and an automated guideway transit system developed by Westinghouse Electric called Skybus. Community opposition rallied against the plan and in favor of retaining the electric rail trolley system and upgrading it into modern LRT. In the end, the LRT option was adopted for the South Hills suburbs, along with development of a busway ("BRT") system for the eastern and western suburbs. [citation needed]
The modern subway in downtown Pittsburgh between Steel Plaza and First Avenue stations uses the Pittsburgh & Steubenville Extension Railroad Tunnel, which began construction in 1863. Rail lines (trolleys) had been a staple of the city and region since the late 19th century, the idea of a downtown to Oakland or East Liberty subway had been considered since at least the 1910s. A public referendum was passed to fund such a subway with an initial investment of $6 million on July 8, 1919, another $5.5 million subway plan was finalized at City Hall in meetings on March 28, 1932, and the public/private Allegheny Conference presented detailed plans and funding for a subway system on June 4, 1947. [citation needed]
Pittsburgh Railways was one of the predecessors to Pittsburgh Regional Transit. It had 666 PCC cars, the third largest fleet in North America. It had 68 street car routes, of which only three (until April 5, 2010 the 42 series, the 47 series, and 52) are used by Pittsburgh Regional Transit as light rail routes. The oldest portions of these old Pittsburgh Railways routes now served by the Pittsburgh Light Rail system date to 1903–1909. With the PRT's Transit Development Plan, many route names will be changed to its original, such as the 41D Brookline becoming the 39 Brookline. Many of the streetcar routes have been remembered in the route names of many Pittsburgh Regional Transit buses (e.g., the 71 series).[citation needed]
1895 to 1905 was a time of consolidation for the numerous street railways serving Pittsburgh. On July 24, 1895, the Consolidated Traction Company was chartered. The following year it acquired the Central Traction Company, Citizens Traction Company, Duquesne Traction Company and Pittsburgh Traction Company and converted them to electric operation. On July 27, 1896, the United Traction Company was chartered and absorbed the Second Avenue Traction Company, which had been running electric cars since 1890.
The Southern Traction Company acquired the lease of the West End Traction Company on October 1, 1900. Pittsburgh Railways was formed on January 1, 1902, when the Southern Traction Company acquired operating rights over the Consolidated Traction Company and United Traction Company. The new company operated 1,100 trolleys on 400 miles (640 km) of track, with 178.7 million passengers and revenues of $6.7 million on the year.