The T Third Street is a
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 ...
light rail line 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 runs along the east side of San Francisco — primarily in the median of Third Street — from to 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.[K Ingleside
The K Ingleside is a light rail line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. It mainly serves the West Portal and Ingleside neighborhoods. The line opened on February 3, 1918, and was the first line to use the Twin Peaks Tunnel ...](_b ...<br></span></div>. It is interlined with the <div class=)
line, forming a single service running between Sunnydale and . The line serves 21 surface stations, all of which are accessible. Most of the surface portion of the line runs in dedicated median lanes, though two portions operate in mixed traffic.
Construction of the line was proposed in the late 1980s as plans for the redevelopment of the
Mission Bay neighborhood were established. Construction took place in the mid-2000s. Limited service began in January 2007, with full service beginning in April of the same year. It was the first line added to the Muni Metro system since the
N Judah
The N Judah is a hybrid light rail/streetcar line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. The line is named after Judah Street that it runs along for much of its length, named after railroad engineer Theodore Judah. It links downt ...
in 1928.
In January 2023, the line will begin using the new
Central Subway, a crosstown route from to . The Central Subway's weekend shuttle service between and Chinatown used since November 2022 and going until the main T Third Street switches over to the Central Subway presently brands its rolling stock as part of the T Third Street. From this point onward, the K Ingleside will no longer be interlined with the T Third Street.
Operations
Route
![Northbound train on Islais Creek bridge, May 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Northbound_train_on_Islais_Creek_bridge%2C_May_2019.JPG)
The T Third Street and
K Ingleside
The K Ingleside is a light rail line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. It mainly serves the West Portal and Ingleside neighborhoods. The line opened on February 3, 1918, and was the first line to use the Twin Peaks Tunnel ...
are interlined, so trains run between and . Trains change designation when entering the Market Street subway: eastbound K trains become T trains at , and westbound T trains become K trains at . From Embarcadero, the tunnel curves southeast and reaches the surface at Ferry Portal near Folsom Street. The T (and N Judah) use tracks in the median of
The Embarcadero and King Street, with several surface station. At
4th and King, the T separates from the N and turns south onto 4th Street. It crosses the 4th Street Bridge and uses a single block of Channel Street to reach Third Street. The line runs south through the
Mission Bay neighborhood in a dedicated median, passing the Mission Bay Loop between 18th and 19th Streets, which is used to allow trains to turn around at Mission Bay or to hold special trains to serve events at
Chase Center
Chase Center is an indoor arena in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The building is the home venue for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and occasionally for the University of San ...
.
The line continues south through Dogpatch and across Islais Creek into the
Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods. It runs in mixed traffic for from Kirkwood Avenue to Shafter Avenue, then returns to dedicated lanes. A wye, occasionally used for
short turn
In public transport, a short turn, short working or turn-back is an earlier terminus on a bus or rail line that is used on some scheduled trips that do not operate along the full length of the route.
Short turns are practical in scheduling when t ...
ing trains, is located at Armstrong Avenue. The line crosses the
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
freeway, where Third Street becomes Bayshore Boulevard, and continues south in the median. The southern terminus of the line is at Sunnydale station in the
Visitacion Valley
Visitacion Valley (; Spanish: ''Valle de la Visitación''), colloquially referred to as Viz Valley, is a neighborhood located in the southeastern quadrant of San Francisco, California.
Visitacion Valley is roughly defined by McLaren Park and Gle ...
neighborhood.
When the T is rerouted into the
Central Subway in January 2023, it will no longer be interlined with the K, and will no longer use the Market Street subway or the surface tracks on Embarcadero and King. Instead, it will cross the N tracks at 4th and King and continue north in the median of 4th Street. It will enter the Central Subway under the I-80 viaduct and serve subway stations at , , and . Additional short turn service between Chinatown and Mission Bay Loop will be later added.
Service
The T Third operates seven days a week, beginning at 5 a.m. weekdays, 6 a.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. Sundays, operating until 1 a.m. Service is provided by
overnight Owl buses during the hours that rail service is not running. The serves the portion between Embarcadero and 4th Street, and the serves the portion between 4th Street and Sunnydale. On weekends, T Third Street Bus service runs from 5am until the start of rail service. The bus line largely follows the rail line, but it uses surface streets to parallel sections where the rail line has dedicated rights-of-way.
History
Construction
The line was constructed as the
Third Street Light Rail Project
The Third Street Light Rail Project was the construction project that expanded the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California, linking downtown San Francisco to the historically underserved southeastern neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Poin ...
. Testing on the line took place in summer 2006, with limited service starting on January 13, 2007, and full service beginning on April 7, 2007. T Third Street service was initially operated between
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 ...
and
Sunnydale station
Sunnydale station (also signed as Visitacion Valley) is a light rail station on the Muni Metro T Third Street line, located in the median of Bayshore Boulevard in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The station opened ...
. Following service changes on June 30, 2007, the T Third Street and the
K Ingleside
The K Ingleside is a light rail line of the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. It mainly serves the West Portal and Ingleside neighborhoods. The line opened on February 3, 1918, and was the first line to use the Twin Peaks Tunnel ...
lines were interlined through 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.[Twin Peaks
''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...](_b ...<br></span></div> and <div class=)
tunnels, resulting in a combined route from
Balboa Park, through downtown, to the
Visitacion Valley
Visitacion Valley (; Spanish: ''Valle de la Visitación''), colloquially referred to as Viz Valley, is a neighborhood located in the southeastern quadrant of San Francisco, California.
Visitacion Valley is roughly defined by McLaren Park and Gle ...
neighborhood.
The Mission Bay Loop project, which added a
short turn
In public transport, a short turn, short working or turn-back is an earlier terminus on a bus or rail line that is used on some scheduled trips that do not operate along the full length of the route.
Short turns are practical in scheduling when t ...
loop using 18th, Illinois, and 19th, was constructed to supplement the Central Subway project. The loop was originally designed in 1998 as part of the Third Street Light Rail project, but was deferred due to insufficient funding. A $3.5 million construction contract was issued in 2014. Construction started in July 2016 and was completed in 2019.
Another loop at 25th and Illinois is proposed to increase short-line service frequency between Downtown and Dogpatch.
Later changes
![UCSF Mission Bay station construction, March 24, 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/UCSF_Mission_Bay_station_construction%2C_March_24%2C_2019.JPG)
The underground section of the line was closed west of
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 ...
from June 25 to August 24, 2018, due to the
Twin Peaks Tunnel shutdown.
On August 25, 2018, at the conclusion of the shutdown, Muni began running permanently two-car trains on the K/T line (as had been used east of Castro during the shutdown). The line was shut down again, from January 22, 2019, until April 1, 2019, for construction of a new platform at
UCSF/Mission Bay station. In April 2019, the SFMTA ended the use of unscheduled
short turn
In public transport, a short turn, short working or turn-back is an earlier terminus on a bus or rail line that is used on some scheduled trips that do not operate along the full length of the route.
Short turns are practical in scheduling when t ...
s. These had been used to provide more consistent service on the inner portion of the line, but had caused inconsistent and less frequent service in the Hunters Point-Bayview and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods.
On March 30, 2020, Muni Metro service was replaced with buses due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. Rail service returned on August 22, with the routes reconfigured to improve reliability in the subway. T Third Street and M Ocean View
light rail lines were interlined, running between
Sunnydale station
Sunnydale station (also signed as Visitacion Valley) is a light rail station on the Muni Metro T Third Street line, located in the median of Bayshore Boulevard in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The station opened ...
and Balboa Park station.
Light rail service was re-replaced with buses on August 25 due to issues with malfunctioning
overhead wire
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipm ...
splices and the need to quarantine control center staff after a COVID-19 case. Rail service resumed on the Embarcadero–Sunnydale section of the T Third Street line on January 23, 2021. In preparation for the return of rail service, several temporary changes were made at the 4th Street bridge over China Basin: one southbound lane became a transit-only lane, and a northbound turn lane at Berry (which shared space with the tracks) was removed. This change was found to decrease delays at the bridge by 60%. Service was re-extended to West Portal on May 15, again through-routed with the K Ingleside.
Central Subway
The second phase of the line was built as the
Central Subway, which forms a crosstown link between
South of Market
South of Market (SoMa) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, situated just south of Market Street. It contains several sub-neighborhoods including South Beach, Yerba Buena, and Rincon Hill.
SoMa is home to many of the city's museums ...
and
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
via
Union Square
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
. Voters approved the Central Subway in 2003, and the alignment was selected in 2008.
Construction began in 2012.
After numerous delays, the Central Subway opened on November 19, 2022, with a weekend-only shuttle service operating between and . The T Third Street will be rerouted into the Central Subway for full service on January 7, 2023. Service will run every 10 minutes on weekdays and every 12 minutes on weekends. Shuttle trains signed "S Chase Center" will operate between Chinatown and for events at Chase Center.
Station listing
All stations along this line feature high platforms, eliminating the need for the raising and lowering of entrance and exit steps characteristic of other Muni Metro lines. Stations south of Fourth and King feature short platforms that accommodate only two-car trains.
Future
These stations will be served by the T Third Street line when it moves into the Central Subway beginning in January 2023. At that time, the T will no longer serve stations between West Portal and 2nd and King, and will no longer be interlined with K Ingleside.
References
External links
SFMTA - K Ingleside/T Third Street
*
*
{{Muni
Muni Metro lines
2007 establishments in California