PITTSBURGH — The light rail Silver Line will be closed the remainder of this week for emergency repairs after the failure of an electrical cable early Wednesday, Pittsburgh Regional Transit has announced.
The affected area is one of the oldest parts of the light rail network, an area where the overhead wire system was rebuilt in the 1980s to accommodate modern light rail vehicles, PRT said in a press release. The failure came in an area where an aluminum feeder cable had carried electricity for more than 5 miles since that retrofit more than 40 years ago.
Shuttle buses are currently replacing trains between the Library station in South Park Township and Washington Junction in Bethel Park; PRT said it is working first to reestablish power between Washington Junction and the Lytle station in Bethel Park; once that occurs, shuttle buses will run between Lytle and Library. The agency said it is working to employ a different system to carry the line’s power over a shorter distance, increasing overall electrical stability and reliability.
The shut-down portion of the Silver Line covers 15 stops and approximately 5.6 miles of the 26.2-mile, 53-station PRT light rail system.
