Light Rail Track Replacement

The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority is rejuvenating the city's heartbeat through the Light Rail Track Replacement Program. A $70 million venture is set to revitalize 10 miles of aging rail infrastructure, enhancing the travel experience with upgraded tracks, increased train capacity, and expedited services.

Read more about the program

Improvements

• Increase Ridership
• Mitigate Congestion
• Improve Speed & Time
• Become Safer
• Increase Capacity

Existing Rail Line Conditions

• Unreliable Cars = Reduced Frequency
• 100lb Rail = Obsolete
• 35 mph = 10 mph Decrease
• Water Issues = Consistent Upkeep 

The Light Rail Lines were reconstructed in 1980.  In late 2017, GCRTA conducted an in-depth visual inspection and documented the condition of the Rail, Ties, Ballast and Storm Drainage on both the Blue and Green Lines by track station.  Each was rated on a scale of 1 – 5 with a 1 being unsafe and a 5 as excellent.  We had no conditions rated with a 1 and the conditions rated a 5 were located at the 18 at-grade roadway crossings and along station platforms that we replaced over the last ten years.

The inspection found that over the 75,500 track feet of the Blue and Green Lines that while the 100 LB rail is functionally obsolete only 400 feet was rated a 2, In 2020 we did conduct an Ultrasonic testing of the rail and found 7 deflects which have been addressed by our Power and Way group.

The 2017 inspection also identified 19,525 track feet (25.9%) of ballast and 14,575 (19.3%) track feet of storm drainage that were also rated a 2.  The tie inspection noted that 20,362 of 37,750 ties (53.9%) needed replacement.

The 2022 inspection identified 11,050 track feet (14.6%) of ballast and 15,610 (20.7%) track feet of storm drainage that were also rated a 2.  The tie inspection noted that 24,270 of 37,750 ties (64.3%) needed replacement.  The inspection showed that the efforts from our maintenance crews have made a significant improvement on the track ballast, we have held steady on drainage, but despite replacing over 4,000 ties we are not keeping up with the deterioration of the existing ties through normal maintenance.

Cost Breakdown

The overall program is estimated at $70 million to construct eight different projects over the next six years. The program estimate is as follows:

To date we have identified $39.3 million of funding from three sources as shown below:

$39.3 million funded out of $70 million

Proposed Project Timeline