The Cleveland Terminal Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation

CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The line runs from a point northeast of downtown Cleveland southwest to downtown along the former New York Central Railroad

New York Central Railroad

The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...

 main line.

At its east end, the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision becomes the Erie West Subdivision

Erie West Subdivision

The Erie West Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The line runs from Erie, Pennsylvania southwest along the shore of Lake Erie to Cleveland, Ohio along the former New York Central Railroad main line.At its east end , the Erie West...

. Its west end is at a junction with the Norfolk Southern Railway

Norfolk Southern Railway

The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

's Cleveland Line

Cleveland Line

Cleveland Line may refer to:*the Cleveland railway line in Brisbane, Australia*the Norfolk Southern Cleveland Line in the United States...

 and Chicago Line; through freights leave at the junction with the Short Line Subdivision

Short Line Subdivision (Ohio)

The Short Line Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the U.S. state of Ohio. The line runs from a point northeast of downtown Cleveland south and southwest to Berea along a former New York Central Railroad line....

 to bypass downtown and remain on CSX trackage.

Amtrak

Amtrak

The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

's Lake Shore Limited

Lake Shore Limited

The Lake Shore Limited is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. The train runs between Chicago and Albany, NY, where it divides into two sections that provide thru-service to New York and Boston...

uses the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision.

History

The line was built by the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad and opened in 1851. Through mergers, leases, and takeovers, it became part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway

The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...

, New York Central Railroad

New York Central Railroad

The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...

, and Conrail. When Conrail was broken up in 1999, the main line east of downtown Cleveland, including the Cleveland Terminal Subdivision, was assigned to CSX.