Getting from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to the city

A station in the basement

• Cleveland Hopkins has had a train under it since 1968, when it became the first airport in the United States with a direct rail link to its downtown. It is still there and it still works.
• The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Red Line station is on the lower level of the main terminal.
• To find it: take the lifts or the escalators in the centre of the ticketing level or the baggage claim level, and go down.

The journey

• Under 30 minutes to downtown Cleveland, via Tower City Station.
• Trains every 15 minutes for most of the day.
• Tower City is the hub: the Blue and Green lines meet the Red Line there, and it sits under a shopping centre in the middle of downtown, a short walk from Public Square.

Practical

• Buy before you board at the station, or use the RTA app.
• RTA's information line is (216) 566-5100.
• The Red Line also serves Ohio City, the West Side Market and University Circle, so it covers a good share of what a visitor wants.

The airport

• CLE is about 16 km south-west of downtown.
• It was a United hub and is not any more, which is why the terminal is larger than the current traffic needs and why the rail link is quieter than it deserves.
• The airport is being rebuilt under a long-term programme, so the walk from the train to the gates will change over the next few years.