West Chester – Florence via Fountain Square
The Orange Line is a north-south line running in a corridor roughly aligned with Interstate 75 from the suburb of West Chester to the Northern Kentucky suburb of Florence. This line and the Gold Line (which shares tracks with the Orange Line through the core urban area)Â form the backbone of the Metro transit system, serving some of the region’s most important employment centers and educational institutions. Notable destinations served by this line include Xavier University, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, the University of Cincinnati and the university medical district, the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, the Cincinnati riverfront, and downtown Covington, Kentucky.
The Orange Line is approximately 37.1 miles long and serves 25 stations.
Route Map
West Chester | ||||||||||||
Interstate 75 at West Chester Road, West Chester, Ohio
The Orange Line begins with an island platform station in the median of Interstate 75 at West Chester Road. Fare control is in a station house at street level, and a Park & Ride facility is adjacent to the station. A storage yard and depot would be located nearby. Heading south from this station, Orange Line trains travel in the median of I-75 to approximately Crescentville Road, at which point the line ascends onto an elevated viaduct and follows Interstate 275 west a short distance before turning south along Old Commons Road. |
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Springdale | ||||||||||||
Tri-County Mall Olde Commons Road at East Kemper Road, Cincinnati, Ohio This station consists of side platforms on an elevated viaduct, with fare control located in a station house at street level. A Park & Ride facility is adjacent to the station. This station provides direct access to Tri-County Mall, a regional shopping destination. Traveling south on an elevated viaduct, Orange Line trains descend to ground level and travel alongside the existing CSX railroad tracks. As the right-of-way approaches the historic Glendale business district, it is proposed that the freight tracks and rapid transit line be sunken into an open cut and pass under Sharon Road. |
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Glendale | ||||||||||||
Greenville Avenue at Sharon Road, Glendale, Ohio
This station consits of an island platform in an open cut, with fare control located in the historic Glendale Depot adjacent to the right-of-way. South of this station, the sunken right-of-way ascends to an embankment before crossing over Glendale-Milford Road. |
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Woodlawn | ||||||||||||
Glendale Road at Glendale-Milford Road, Cincinnati, Ohio
This station consists of an island platform on an elevated embankment, with fare control located at ground level. Traveling south, the Orange Line continues to follow the existing railroad right-of-way. Approaching Lockland, it is proposed that the existing grade crossings be eliminated by elevating the railroad right-of-way onto an embankment from Mulberry Street to Glabriath Road. The Lockland station is located within this segment. |
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Lockland | ||||||||||||
864 West Wyoming Avenue, Lockland, Ohio
This is an island platform station on a raised emabnkment, with fare control located in a station house opening to Wyoming Avenue at ground level. |
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Hartwell | ||||||||||||
Vine Street at Caldwell Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio
This is an island platform station on a raised emabnkment, with fare control located in a station house opening to Vine Street at ground level. Departing this station, southbound Gold Line trains diverge from the CSX right-of-way and travel south on an elevated viaduct parallel to Vine Street. The trainsit right-of-way then turns southeast on an existing railroad embankment and travels alongside the existing Norfolk Southern right-of-way. |
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Carthage | ||||||||||||
Lebanon Street at East Seymour Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
This station consists of an island platform, with fare control located in a station house at street level. The station opens to Seymour Avenue, a short distance from the Carthage neighborhood business district. Southbound from this station, it is proposed that freight and transit tracks be raised onto an elevated embankment so as to aliminate multiple grade crossings. (Separating the mainline tracks from street traffic thought this segment would also facilitate high-speed intercity rail service to Dayton, Columbus, and Cleveland.) |
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Elmwood Place | ||||||||||||
Elmwood Avenue at Township Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
This station consists of an island platform, with fare control located in a station house at street level. Southwest of this station, Orange Line trains follow the existing Norfolk Southern railroad for approximately a half-mile, and then descend into a subway running southbound under Vine Street. |
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St. Bernard | ||||||||||||
Vine Street at Washington Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio
This subway station consists of an island platform, with fare control located on a mezzanine above the track level, with access to the street via sidewalk kiosks. Traveling southbound from St. Bernard, Vine Street ascends a steep hill; the subway tunnel ascends at a more gradual rate, thus becoming deeper relative to ground level. In the vicinity of the Cincinnati Zoo, Gold Line tracks join the Orange Line subway from the east and run parallel to the Orange Line until past the Fort Mitchell Station in Northern Kentucky. From this point until the Fort Mitchell station, Gold Line express trains make limited stops, while Orange Line trains make all local stops. |
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Avondale | ||||||||||||
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens Vine Street at Erkenbrecher Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio This station consists of an island platform, with fare control located on a mezzanine above. Access to street level is via a pavilion at the corner of Vine Street and Erkenbrecher Avenue. |
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King Drive | ||||||||||||
University of Cincinnati East Campus Cincinnati Medical Center Burnett Woods Park Vine Street at Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio This station consists of an island platform, with fare control located on a mezzanine at either end of the platform. Access to street level is via a pavilions at the northeast and southwest corners of Vine Street and Martin Luther King Drive, providing direct access to the University of Cincinnati campus. Leaving the station, trains continue south under Jefferson Avenue. |
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Corryville | ||||||||||||
University of Cincinnati West Campus Vine Street at Calhoun Street, Cincinnati, Ohio This is a deep subway station with an island platform, and fare control located on a mezzanine level above the tracks. Access to the station is via escalators and elevators from a pavilion located at the southeast corner of Vine Street and West Corry Street. In addition to providing access to the University of Cincinnati’s west campus, this station also serves the active campus business district along Calhoun Street, McMillan Avenue, and Vine Street. The Corryville station is a typical example of several deep-bore subway stations throughout the Metro Cincinnati system, and is discussed in further detail on its own page. Upon departing the station, trains continue south under Vine Street toward downtown Cincinnati. |
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Over-the-Rhine | ||||||||||||
Vine Street at Liberty Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
This station consists of a side platforms, with fare control located on a mezzanine above. Sidewalk kiosks provide access to the street level. |
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Gateway | ||||||||||||
Central Parkway at Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
This station consists of side platforms, with fare control located on a mezzanine above. The mezzanine level is located below the Purple Line, which runs in the original 1925 subway under Central Parkway. Access to the street level and the Purple Line platform is via the intermediate mezzanine level. |
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Fountain Square | ||||||||||||
West Fifth Street and Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio
Fountain Square is the primary transit hub of the Metro system, located in the heart of downtown Cincinnati. Red Line and Green Line trains travel in a subway running east-west under Fifth Street, while Gold Line and Orange Line trains travel in a subway running north-south under Vine Street. Fountain Square is located where the Vine Street subway passes under the Fifth Street subway, with fare control located on a large mezzanine between the two levels. This mezzanine is located within the shell of the Fountain Square parking garage, with entrances to the station located on Vine Street and Fifth Street. The Fountain Square transit hub is discussed in further detail on its own page. |
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Riverfront | ||||||||||||
Great American Ballpark Paul Brown Stadium National Underground Railroad Freedom Center Central Riverfront Park West 2nd Street at Vine Street, Cincinnati, Ohio The Riverfront station consists of Blue Line trains running east-west via the Riverfront Transit Center, and Orange and Gold Line trains crossing in a north-south direction in a deep-bore station below. This lower station consists of two side platforms, connected to the Blue Line platforms via escalators and elevators.
South of the Riverfront station, the Orange Line crosses under the Ohio River via a deep-bore tunnel into downtown Covington, Kentucky. This river crossing is approximately 200 feet west of the historic Roebling Suspension Bridge. |
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Ohio River Crossing via tunnel |
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Roebling Bridge | ||||||||||||
Downtown Covington Scott Street at East Third Street, Covington, Kentucky Prior to entering this station, the Gold Line diverges onto a parallel express track. Both lines serve an island platform at the Roebling Bridge station, while northbound Gold Line and Orange Line trains merge onto a single track south of the station, and serve a single side platform. Fare control is on mezzanine levels above either end of the platforms, with access to the street level provided via ground-level pavilions. Leaving the station southbound, the line widens to four tracks, with express Gold Line trains running on the outer tracks and skipping the next three stations, and local Orange Line trains running on the inner tracks and serving all stations. The subway continues south under Scott Street, before turning southwest at Pike Street and following Pike Street toward Interstate 71/75. |
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Pike Street | ||||||||||||
Pike Street at Madison Avenue, Covington, Kentucky
This is a subway station with an island platform serving Orange Line trains, with Gold Line trains bypassing the station on outer express tracks. Fare control is on a mezzanine above the platform, with access to street level via sidewalk kiosks. |
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12th Street | ||||||||||||
Willow Run Street at West 12th Street, Covington, Kentucky
This is a subway station with an island platform serving Orange Line trains, with Gold Line trains bypassing the station on outer express tracks. Fare control is on a mezzanine above the platform, with access to street level via sidewalk kiosks. South of this station, all four tracks emerge in the median of Interstate 71/75. The Gold Line express tracks merge with the Silver Line tracks from Union Terminal. The tracks and the expressway ascend a two-mile, 3.5% grade through the so-called “Cut in the Hill”. |
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Fort Wright | ||||||||||||
Interstate 71/75 at Kyles Lane, Fort Wright, Kentucky
This station consists of an island platform in the median of the expressway, with Gold Line and Silver Line trains bypassing the station via outer express tracks. Fare control is in a station house at street level. |
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Fort Mitchell |
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Interstate 71/75 and Buttermilk Pike, Fort Mitchell, Kentucky
This station consists of two island platforms in the Interstate 71/75 expressway median at the Buttermilk Pike interchange. One platform serves all outbound trains; other platform serves all inbound trains. Silver Line and Gold Line trains operate on outer express tracks; Orange Line trains operate on inner local tracks. This station would be a major hub for local bus routes, and includes a large parking garage for Park-and-Ride commuter service. South of the Fort Mitchell station, Silver Line and Gold Line split from the Orange Line and head west toward the airport, following Interstate 275. Orange Line trains continue southwest to Florence along the Interstate 71/75 median. |
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Erlanger | ||||||||||||
Interstate 71/75 at Donaldson Highway, Erlanger, Kentucky
This station consists of an island platform, with fare control and a Park & Ride facility at street level. |
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Florence | ||||||||||||
Florence Mall Interstate 71/75 at Steinberg Drive, Florence, Kentucky This station consists of an island platform, with fare control on a mezzanine level above. A pedestrian bridge provides access to an adjacent Park & Ride facility and to nearby Florence Mall. A storage yard and maintenance facility is nearby. |
Notes / Image Credits
- Ronny Salerno, “Cincinnati’s Other Abandoned Subway,†Queen City Discovery, http://queencitydiscovery.blogspot.com/2009/05/cincinnatis-other-abandoned-subway.html [accessed 9 August 2009].