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The E Embarcadero is a historic streetcar line that is the
San Francisco Municipal Railway
The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni), is the public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco. It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cabl ...
's second heritage streetcar
Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.
Trains
It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP ...
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 ...
. Trial service first ran during the Sunday Streets events on The Embarcadero in 2008. The line initially ran on weekends only, but expanded to weeklong service in late April 2016.
Route
The initial routing of the line is nearly identical to the defunct 32 Embarcadero bus line, which was discontinued after theF Market & Wharves
The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment both from San Franc ...
line began operating along the Embarcadero in 2000.
It runs the length of the Embarcadero and San Francisco's segment of the Bay Trail, along pre-existing track used by the F Market & Wharves
The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment both from San Franc ...
historic streetcar as well as 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 ...
and T Third Street
The T Third Street is a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco, California. It runs along the east side of San Francisco — primarily in the median of Third Street — from to the Market Street subway. It is interlined with th ...
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 15 ...
lines and previously unused track bypassing 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.Fisherman's Wharf to near the N Judah's platform at
An extension of the E Embarcadero to Aquatic Park is planned but is currently not fully funded. The extension would relocate the terminus from
Caltrain
Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a California commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose at Tamien station with weekday rush hour service running as fa ...
's King Street and 4th Street Station in the Mission Bay neighborhood – the last trains of the day run to near the adjacent T Third platform at 4th and Berry. Since there is no loop at the Caltrain station, only double-ended streetcars are able to operate on the line until a loop track is built.
Proposed extension
An extension of the E Embarcadero to Aquatic Park is planned but is currently not fully funded. The extension would relocate the terminus from Jones and Beach station
Jones and Beach station is a streetcar station in the Fisherman's Wharf district of San Francisco, California, serving as the terminus of the San Francisco Municipal Railway's E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves heritage railway
A herita ...
to a new station on Beach street adjacent to Aquatic Park.
The line could be extended past Aquatic Park in the future by the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
's proposal to extend the route through the existing Fort Mason Tunnel
Fort Mason Tunnel is an abandoned single-track railway tunnel in San Francisco which runs under a small hill upon which sits a portion of the old Fort Mason. The tunnel was constructed in 1913 and opened to rail traffic in 1914. The east portal ...
and into Fort Mason Center
Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...
. As of 2018, the SFMTA was attempting to secure funding for engineering studies in order to advance the project. The extension would serve Fort Mason Center and the Marina district, identified by the NPS as areas with "inadequate regional transit access" and "limited transportation options for transit-dependent residents," and providing those areas with a rail connection to regional transportation networks via 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.4th and King Caltrain Station.
Market Street Railway
{{Heritage Streetcars San Francisco Municipal Railway Streetcars in California Heritage streetcar systems Heritage railroads in California Tourist attractions in San Francisco 600 V DC railway electrification
History
Muni's original E streetcar line was the E Union line, running north from the Ferry Building via The Embarcadero to Washington/Jackson streets, where it turned west to eventually reach thePresidio
A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...
. This line was discontinued in 1947.
Streetcar demonstration
Proposals for historic streetcar service along The Embarcadero were first put forward in 1974, and the first mention of separate E Embarcadero and F Market lines was in 1981. In 1987, a temporary, demonstration streetcar service was operated along part of the Embarcadero as part of the 1987San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival
The San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival was a heritage streetcar service along Market Street in San Francisco, California, United States. It used a variety of vintage streetcars and operated five to seven days a week, primarily in summer mo ...
, to gauge public interest in, and the practicality of, a regular streetcar service. It ran along then-existing, but disused, San Francisco Belt Railroad
The San Francisco Belt Railroad was a short-line railroad along the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. It began as the State Belt Railroad in 1889, and was renamed when the city bought the Port of San Francisco in 1969. As a state owned ...
tracks and operated two days a week for a little over five weeks, using two streetcars powered by electricity from portable diesel generators.
Previous E Embarcadero service
Light rail service on the section of The Embarcadero south of Folsom Street and on King Street to the Caltrain Depot began on January 10, 1998, using aMuni 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 15 ...
shuttle line between Embarcadero Station
Embarcadero station is a combined BART and Muni Metro rapid transit station in the Market Street subway. Located under Market Street between Drumm Street and Beale Street near The Embarcadero, it serves the Financial District neighborhood and s ...
and the Caltrain station. This temporary line was designated E Embarcadero, and it was discontinued when it was replaced in August 1998 by an extension of 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 ...
line. In 2007 the new T Third Street
The T Third Street is a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco, California. It runs along the east side of San Francisco — primarily in the median of Third Street — from to the Market Street subway. It is interlined with th ...
line also began operating on this extension.
Historic streetcar service
Historic streetcar service on The Embarcadero north ofDon Chee Way
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
began in March 2000 when the F Market & Wharves
The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment both from San Franc ...
line was extended to Fisherman's Wharf. That extension and the 1998 light rail extension to the Caltrain Depot make up almost the entirety of the E line route; they were connected by unused tracks on The Embarcadero between Don Chee Way and Folsom Street.
Later changes
The new E Embarcadero line operated on a temporary basis during the2013 America's Cup
The 34th America's Cup was a series of yacht races held in San Francisco Bay on September 2013. The series was contested between the defender Oracle Team USA representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, and the challenger Emirates Team New Zealand ...
yacht races.
On March 28, 2014, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA or San Francisco MTA) is an agency created by consolidation of the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), the Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT), and the Taxicab Commission. The agen ...
(SFMTA) officially approved plans for weekend-only service of the E Embarcadero heritage streetcar line starting in summer 2015, with weeklong service starting the next year. Weekend operation officially began on August 1, 2015, and weeklong service began on April 23, 2016.
Service was suspended in March 2020 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 identi ...
, and as of March 2022, still has yet to resume.
Station/Stop listing
Though the right-of-way is shared with the two Muni Metro lines on the South of Market (SoMa) segment, the stations themselves are not shared with Muni Metro because historic cars cannot access elevated median boarding platforms. For this reason, existing sidewalk-level stops adjacent to each raised light-rail stop are utilized for the E line. For stops north of Market, the line uses those of the existingF Market & Wharves
The F Market & Wharves line is one of several light rail lines in San Francisco, California. Unlike most other lines in the system, the F line runs as a heritage streetcar service, almost exclusively using historic equipment both from San Franc ...
line. All stations on the line are accessible.
References
External links
*Market Street Railway
{{Heritage Streetcars San Francisco Municipal Railway Streetcars in California Heritage streetcar systems Heritage railroads in California Tourist attractions in San Francisco 600 V DC railway electrification