Eureka Valley station is an abandoned underground

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

station in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. It was located inside the

Twin Peaks Tunnel The Twin Peaks Tunnel is a light rail/streetcar tunnel in San Francisco, California. The tunnel runs under Twin Peaks and is used by the K Ingleside/T Third Street, M Ocean View and S Shuttle lines of the Muni Metro system. The eastern entra ...

, very close to its eastern end in the Eureka Valley neighborhood. The station opened in 1918, and was closed in 1972 during the construction of the

Market Street subway The Market Street subway is a two-level subway tunnel that carries Muni Metro and BART trains under Market Street in San Francisco, California.Sunset Tunnel The Sunset Tunnel, originally known as the Duboce Tunnel, is a -long light rail/streetcar tunnel in San Francisco, California. The tunnel runs under the steep hill adjacent to Buena Vista Park and is used exclusively by the N Judah Muni Metro ...

, whose east portal was originally to be located at the corner of Market and Eureka streets. The station had low platforms, with a single staircase on each platform leading to small headhouses on either side of Market Street. It opened with the

on February 3, 1918; the Sunset Tunnel was built a decade later with an east portal at Duboce and Noe instead. Just east of the station, the tunnel dipped sharply (to connect to a planned Market Street tunnel) then rose to the surface at Castro Street. When the

Market Street subway The Market Street subway is a two-level subway tunnel that carries Muni Metro and BART trains under Market Street in San Francisco, California.Forest Hill station was retained and years later upgraded to

Muni Metro Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, United States. Operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), a part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), Muni Metro served an average of 157 ...

standards with high platforms, but Eureka Valley station was not. Plagued by high crime due to its low ridership and bent staircases, it was "a place as dangerous as any in the city." The station was permanently closed in 1972, and "temporary" ramps to the surface were built through the east end of the platforms, allowing construction of the new tunnel while maintaining existing streetcar service (on 17th Street, Church, and Duboce). Market Street Subway construction through Eureka station, May 1973

Market Street Subway construction through Eureka station, May 1973

Cars on the K, L, and M lines began using temporary trackage on 17th Street on December 2, 1972, though the ramps were not completed until 1973. After eight years of construction,

Castro station Castro station is a Muni Metro station at the intersection of Market Street, Castro Street, and 17th Street in The Castro district of San Francisco, California. Station layout and history The station consists of two side platforms next to the ...

opened slightly to the east in 1980 when Muni Metro service was inaugurated on the three Twin Peaks Tunnel lines. The ramps remained in regular service on weekends until September 19, 1982, when the last

PCC streetcar The PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) is a streetcar (tram) design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful in its native country, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the ...

service was discontinued. After its closure, Eureka Valley station continued to attract illicit activity like parties and sex; Muni removed the decrepit headhouses in February 1980, and the station was more tightly secured with fences and doors. The fenced-off ramps are still used for overnight maintenance access; they are not regularly used by trains but are still present in Muni's train control system. The remaining platforms - the Bay Area's only

ghost station A ghost station is a disused train station through which revenue-service passenger trains (especially rapid transit trains) pass but at which they do not stop. The term is also sometimes used for any unused underground station or any unused s ...

- can be seen from passing trains, and the former stairwells serve as emergency exits that lead to hatches on the sidewalks outside. Planned renovations of the Twin Peak Tunnel include seismic retrofitting of the former station.

References

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* * {{Bay Area Rail Stations Former Muni Metro stations Abandoned rapid transit stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1918 Railway stations closed in 1972 Railway stations located underground in California