The suburban end of Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s light rail system to Library, known as the Silver Line, will be closed for the rest of the week after an electrical cable failed Wednesday morning.
The Silver Line is closed between Library Station in South Park and Lytle Station in Bethel Park. During the emergency repairs, which involve the oldest section of the system, the agency will set up shuttle buses to help riders get to operating portions of the system.
In a news release, the agency said it is operating shuttle buses from Library Station to Washington Junction in Bethel Park using Route 88/Library Road right now. It is working on repairs to reopen the area between Lytle Station and Washington Junction first so that shuttles could operate a shorter distance between Library and Lytle stations.
PRT said the repairs are in an area where overhead power lines were reconstructed in the 1980s for use by older rail cars, then retrofitted more recently using an aluminum cable feeder system for modern light rail cars. After about 40 years of use, that cable feeder system failed.
The agency said it will use a different method of distributing the electricity that it believes will increase the electrical stability and reliability of the Silver Line overall.
Ed covers transportation at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at eblazina@unionprogress.com.