Conrail is the current owner of some track that would conceivably provide a link between the Shaker rapid lines and the Red Line considerably to the east of their current nexus at E. 55th. Creating a spur along this track could enable RTA to provide a one-seat express train between Shaker Square and the University/Cedar stop. It's clear to me that this could make transit riders of quite a few CWRU faculty and staff, but its potential utility would be broader that that, I think. The biggest problem is that the right-of-way is too narrow for freight and passenger rail to run on it safely simultaneously. But RTA's Transit 2025 master plan allows as how some of the region's freight track may become 'surplus' in  coming years. If Conrail ever became willing to sell this track to RTA, this idea would become feasible. Investing in this proposal would be a re-investment in existing infrastructure in an already-urbanized part of the region, unlike building new track to the exurbs.