Following the breakup of Conrail, this is the location where the Water-level Route changes from NS ownership (to the west) to CSX ownership (to the east). At the former location of Berea Tower (MP 194.3), there are crossovers and the siding ends, the (CSX) former Big Four line from Columbus trails in from the southwest and continues northeast (now owned by NS), and the Water-level Route turns north-northeast at Berea (MP 193.9). The double track line has speed limits of 50 mph on track 1 and 40 mph on track 2 to MP 193.4, 35 mph (head-end only) to MP 192.5, and 79-70-60-50 from MP 192.5, past crossovers at CP Belt (MP 191.6), where there is a spur east into a Ford plant, and at CP 190 (Belt Junction, MP 190.7), where the speed limit falls to 50-40, where there is a wye on the east side with the former Cleveland Short Line, with the north leg trailing in at Wise (MP 189.9).
The Cleveland Rapid Transit Airport Line runs alongside to the west, as the main line continues northeast past Lorain Street (MP 187.9), where a spur from the Interstate Terminal Warehouse trails in from the west and the speed limit rises to 79-70-60-50, detectors at "Cleveland West" (MP 186.3), where the line turns east-northeast, industry spurs on the south side of the line, a bridge over both the RTA, as it turns east, and the former Nickel Plate line, the Whiskey Island Ore Dock on the lake shore just north of the line (last site of operational Hulett ore unloaders), MP 182.8, where the speed limit falls to 50-40, crossovers at Drawbridge (MP 182.3), the moveable through truss bridge over the Cuyahoga River, MP 181.7, where speed limits rise to 70-60-50, a bridge where the RTA line to the lake front passes above the main line and then runs alongside to the north, east of this location, with a street to its north, Cleveland Stadium and the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame on the north side of the line, the Amtrak station (depot on the south side of the line, platform between tracks), two road bridges overhead, and crossovers at CP 181 (not extending to the northernmost track(s), where the former PRR Cleveland Line connects on the south side before turning away southeast to climb away from the lake. The latter is the route of Amtrak's Capitol Limited, while Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited continues east-northeast, along that lake shore, past the remnants of the lake port in Cleveland.