The four rail lines join at
Tower City Center in
downtown Cleveland, on the platform level of the former
Cleveland Union Terminal. Three rail lines share their tracks at
Tri-C–Campus District and
East 55th stations. This sharing of one route by light and heavy rail trains is quite unusual. The shared stations have connected
platforms of two heights to accommodate the two kinds of trains. And the two types of trains both use the same maintenance facility since they both use the same track gauge and same source of power (overhead
catenary).
Red Line The Red Line, a heavy-rail route, runs in both directions on fully grade-separated
rights-of-way built from 1955 to 1968. It serves Cleveland's southwest suburbs, with its southwestern terminus at
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Heading northeast, the Red Line serves
University Circle before heading to its northeastern terminus at the Louis Stokes Station at Windermere in
East Cleveland.
Blue, Green, and Waterfront Lines The Blue and Green light-rail lines (alternatively known as the
RTA Shaker Rapid) were built from 1913 to 1936 as grade-separated lines closer to downtown and surface lines along street
medians in the
streetcar suburb of
Shaker Heights. The two lines diverge at
Shaker Square, a historic mixed-use community in Cleveland proper, just west of the Shaker Heights border. The Blue Line veers southeast along Van Aken Boulevard until reaching
its terminus near the intersection of Warrensville Center Road and Chagrin Boulevard (
U.S. Route 422 and
State Route 8). The Green Line continues due east along Shaker Boulevard (
State Route 87) until reaching
its terminus at the intersection of Green Road. on the
Waterfront Line The Waterfront Line, opened in 1996, extends the Blue and Green Lines from Tower City north through The Flats. It then travels northeast along the shoreline of
Lake Erie, servicing the local
Amtrak station and terminates at the
Lakefront Municipal lot. The Waterfront light rail line provides access from Tower City Center to
the Flats,
Cleveland Browns Stadium, the
Great Lakes Science Center, the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and
Burke Lakefront Airport. == Stations ==