Hey everyone! Today I will be making the case for the weirdest rapid transit system on the left side of the pond, I am talking about of course none other than Cleveland's RTA! From the first airport rail link in the Western Hemisphere to heavy and light rail intermingling to using the old intercity rail terminal, there is so much that makes this transit system like none other. The system has 50 (51 on August 11, 2015) total stations, of which 1 is a request stop, across approximately 37 track miles. Attached below is a recent map: I am proposing this route in its entirety in three similar times with slight differences: 1. The late 2000s-early 2010s. At this time, many stations were not renovated and one of the Red Line stations in particular, E 105-Quincy, was not renovated and used SDO--only the first door of the first car opened at this station. 2. August 11, 2015. This is the only day the old (now closed) Euclid-East 120th Station and the new Little Italy-University Circle stations were now opened. Not much has changed since then, and the only differences between the route then and now aside from a different timetable are some renovations. 3. 2019. This is a time period post renovation when the Waterfront Line is not suspended. All renovations complete now are complete then, and those who do not like SDO do not need to use it. As you can see, these times can provide some slightly different, interesting experiences at little cost to DTG to implement them. For rolling stock, there are two trains we will get: the Tokyu HRV, in use on the Red Line, and the Breda LRV, used by the Blue and Green (and by extension, Waterfront) Lines. The former exists as standalone cars and married pairs, and will run in either one- or two-car formations. The system has 2 underground stations, one at Tower City and the other at Hopkins Airport, pictured above. At Tower City, Tri-C, and East 55th Stations, there are both high- and low-level platforms to accommodate the high-level Red Line and the low-level Blue and Green Lines. East 55th Station with a view of the depot used for all trains. The system has no PIS, in its place a simple dashed line denoting the color line the train runs on, and in the case of the Red Line, simple red cardboard signs in an all-caps Helvetica font showing its destination. With 2 underground and 49 above ground stations, the scenery is varied, from the many bridges in central Cleveland around Tower City to airport scenery to Case Western Reserve University and mainline parallel-running. With P42s, Superliners, and Viewliners, we could get 4 Amtrak AI services per day! There also exists the possibility of short NS and CSX runs along the sections that parallel the Red and Waterfront Lines. Red Line heading into Downtown Cleveland. Unfortunately, I cannot find any pictures with NS/Amtrak bypassing an RTA station. Here are mainline tracks with views of the stations, however: Amtrak station, Waterfront Line Mainline tracks at Puritas on the Red Line, used by Amtrak and NS. For DLC, we could possibly get the following: The Siemens S200 LRV, designed to replace all heavy and light rail vehicles, the Red Line's old "Blue Birds" and "Airporter" trains (which would probably come with an older version of the route), and old PCC cars in use on the Blue and Green Lines (with an older and shorter route, as the Waterfront Line did not yet exist). Thank you to all who have come this far, hope you have a nice day and please like the post if you would like to see Cleveland's RTA in TSW!
