East 79th Street Rapid Station Reopens

The 79^th Street Rapid station of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has reopened.

It was the last key station to be reconstructed in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The redesigned facility has a series of ramps and stair structures down an existing hillside.

A pedestrian track crossing is protected by gates, flashing lights and bells.

The station entrance is a new entry plaza that also has a bus-waiting area.

“The East 79th Street Station project not only marks the completion of the station reconstruction. Now all Red Line Stations are ADA compliant,” RTA CEO and General Manager India Birdsong.

Track Work to Affect RTA Red Line

Construction on Track 13 at the Tower City station will bring changes to Greater Cleveland RTA Red Line trains starting Dec. 28.

Construction on Track 13 will result in eastbound trains traveling a detour route through the station.

In a service alert, RTA said riders wishing to board westbound Red Line trains at Tower City will need to use an auxiliary platform on Track 7.

That platform can be accessed by using the stairs or elevator located on level two of Tower City Center between Dario Fashion Group and the old Victoria’s Secret store.

Signs are being posted within Tower City to guide riders to the boarding location.

Riders boarding eastbound Red Line trains at Tower City will use the current westbound platform.

The boarding change will be in effect through next spring. Green and Blue Line trains will not be affected by the construction.

The Waterfront Line also remains suspended until next spring.

Cleveland RTA Gets Grant for New Rail Cars

A Cleveland RTA Red Line car idles at the Hopkins Airport station. The Red Line will be getting new cars thanks to a federal grant. (Photograph by Craig Sanders)

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has received a $15 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to buy new rail cars.

The 34 new cars will be used on the Red line and are part of a project to rebuild the agency’s rail maintenance facility, buy new equipment, and improve stations to accommodate the new cars.

RTA officials have said the cars now used on the Red Line, which runs between Cleveland Hopkins Airport and East Cleveland via downtown Cleveland, have have reached the end of their useful life due to corrosion issues.

Maintaining and replacing obsolete has resulted in maintenance costs that are double that of a newer fleet.

RTA General Manager India Birdsong said in a statement that the grant will be “an extraordinary opportunity” to help modernize its aging rail fleet and “bring our infrastructure into a state of good repair.”

She said the grant puts RTA one step closer to eliminating the risk of losing rail service.

The grant money will come from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development program.

FTA said BUILD grants totaling $29.2 million are being awarded to advance rail projects.

Cleveland RTA Red Line Station Temporarily Closing

Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority will close on April 1 the East 79^th Street Rapid station on the Red Line due to new station construction.

A service advisory said the station would be closed until summer 2021.

Passengers bound for the area served by the station should consult the trip planner on rideRTA.com or call the RTAnswerline at 216-621-9500 for information about alternative transportation options.

Cleveland RTA Suspends Some Services

In the wake of a stay at home order for most Ohioans, Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has suspended its Park-N-Ride and downtown Cleveland trolley bus service.

In a service advisory RTA said those services will resume after the stay at home order is lifted.

It suggested that Park-N-Ride passengers use the Rapid as an alternate route for service to downtown.

Ample free parking is available on the Red Line at the Triskett, Bookpark and Puritas stations. A large parking lot is available on the Green Line at Green Road in Shaker Heights.

Those who normally ride the downtown trolley were urged to ride regular downtown bus routes.

RTA said that it continues to offer its weekday schedule of buses and trains for now.

It noted that it is classified as essential critical Infrastructure and will continue to operate.

However, RTA said this is an uncertain time and the agency can’t say what might happen.

Red Line Rail Resumes to Hopkins Airport

Rail service between Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and Tower City was restored on Monday following the completion of a track stabilization project.

The Red Line had been closed between the airport and West Boulevard-Cudell Station for nearly three months as workers repaired and stabilized an S-curve retaining wall adjacent to the Chicago Line of Norfolk Southern.

The $1.3 million project involved placement of 75 steel beam frames to stabilize 300 feet of retaining wall.

India Birdsong

During the line closure passengers rode buses in place of trains.

In an unrelated matter the board of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority formally named India Birdsong as the agency’s chief executive officer and general manager effective Sept. 16.

Birdsong is currently chief operating officer of Nashville’s public transportation authority, WeGo Public Transit.

She also spent nine years with the Chicago Transit Authority in a variety of positions.

Birdsong will replace Joseph Calabrese, who stepped down in September 2018. Floun’say Caver served as interim CEO for the past year.

The RTA board approved a five-year contract for Birdsong that will pay her $260,000 annually.

Caver will return to his prior job as RTA’s deputy general manager for operations.

RTA Red Line Work to be Done by Late August

Greater Cleveland RTA expects to finish repairing a retaining wall along its Red Line by late August.

The work is being done on an S curve located between West 117^th Street and West Boulevard.

The need to repair the wall became urgent last spring when movement of the wall accelerated.

To stabilize the wall, workers will install 70 steel beams along 300 feet of the wall.

Rail service on the affected portion of the Red line was suspended on May 30 due to safety concerns.

In the meantime, buses have replaced trains between the West Boulevard-Cudell station and Cleveland Hopkins Airport.

The project cost will be $1.3 million and is being done by contractor Great Lakes Construction.

In an unrelated development, Red Line rail service between Tower City and Windermere will be suspended on July 20 and 21 due to construction.

On both days 66R buses will provide alternative service.

The 66R buses will not stop at Tri-C- Campus District station, which is also served by Blue Line and Green Line trains as well as bus routes No. 15 and 19.

The stop for Tower City is located on West Prospect at West Third Street.

The construction work involves the Opportunity Corridor Project, East 105th Street bridge, and a CEI substation.

Part of RTA Red Line Replaced by Buses Until Aug. 10

The Red Line of the Greater Cleveland RTA has been shut down in part through Aug. 10 for track work.

Buses have replaced rail service between Cleveland Hopkins Airport and the West Boulevard-Cudell station.

In a service advisory, RTA said route 66R buses will serve the affected stations.

At the airport, the bus stop will be located in the lot between the terminal and the smart parking garage.

To reach the bus stop take the escalator next to the rapid station (one level below baggage claim) up to street level.

The stop for the West 117^th Street station will be at the No. 78 stop on 117th Street. The bus will not pull into the rail station.

At West Boulevard, the 66R bus will pull in and stop in front of the station.

Passengers should look for special orange 66R bus stop signs.

Regular Red Line rail service will operate between West Boulevard-Cudell and Windermere as scheduled.

Buses Replace Some Red Line Trains

Greater Cleveland RTA has replaced its Red Line trains with buses until further notice in the wake of a problem with a retain wall along the route.

The buses, labeled 66R are operating between the West Boulevard-Cudell station and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Intermediate stations affected include Brookpark, Puritas, West Park, Triskett and West 117^th Street.

RTA had earlier announced that it was undertaking “extensive track work” on the Red Line.

The airport stop for the buses will be in the Limo Lot between the main terminal and the Smart Parking Garage.

Bus stops at the Red Line stations will be marked with signs in Cleveland Browns colors.

Contractor Helping RTA Replace Wheels

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority has hired a Pennsylvania Company to help it replace wheels used on cars on its Red Line.

RTA officials say that the wheels used on Red Line cars have worn down faster than its maintenance forces can replace them.

UTCRAS of Morton, Pennsylvania, will replace wheels on seven of the Red Line’s 40 cars. The company is also expected to receive a $265,574 contract to repair the chassis of 13 cars.

By hiring an outside contractor, RTA officials said they will get the repairs done sooner and that, in turn, will enable RTA to resume running two-car trains for each rush hour schedule.

RTA needs 24 cars to provide two-car trains during rush hours. Although there are 24 serviceable cars available, if one or more of those cars needs repairs RTA is caught short.

Although new wheels were ordered in July 2017, they didn’t arrive until earlier this year.

As some cars were in the shop to get repairs, the wheels on cars in revenue service began wearing out faster than anticipated.

RTA began a second shift and redeployed some of its mechanics to accelerate the repair work.

The agency has also begun hiring to replace vacant positions and started ordering parts farther in advance.

Hiring UTCRAS enabled RTA to install new wheels on five cars in four weeks, which exceeded the pace of 2.2 cars per month when the work was done solely by RTA workers.

RTA hopes to have 32 cars in revenue service by next April.

In an unrelated development, RTA is also holding a sweepstakes to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Red Line’s extension to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The winner will receive two tickets on Icelandair for travel between Cleveland and Iceland. The winner will also receive four nights of hotel accommodations that include breakfast, airport and hotel transfers, as well as a tour of the Golden Circle.

Entries can be made on the RTA website through Nov. 11. Only one entry per valid email address will be allowed.