More Muni Metro Rail to Return in May

More Muni Metro Rail to Return in May
By Mariana Maguire

By May, the SFMTA plans to restart more Muni Metro rail service, extending the T Third Metro rail route between Sunnydale and West Portal, and bringing the full N Judah Metro rail route back into service between 4th and King (CalTrain) and La Playa (Ocean Beach).

Adding Metro rail service means we can connect more customers to essential jobs and locations along these routes and make it easier for customers to travel through downtown along Market Street.

Since August 2020, Muni has been undertaking intensive subway repairs after discovering some potentially faulty overhead splices and issues with ballast in the Eureka Curve/Twin Peaks Tunnel. We are now moving closer to completing the essential repairs and upgrades which will allow us to reopen subway service. Our work crews have removed all of the splices that had been potentially defective and replaced them with splices from a new manufacturer. We’ve also finished construction of the ballast in the Eureka Curve and have begun extensive testing and certification of the subway to ensure that everything works properly, reliably and safely. In the meantime, we’re also continuing important regular maintenance work to make as many improvements as possible while the subway is temporarily closed.

The return of the N Judah Metro rail will also free up buses that we will put to use on existing bus routes so that we can circulate other vehicles out for critical maintenance. In the effort to bring back as much bus service as possible and run buses more frequently, we have been pushing our vehicles to the limits with little or no time for maintenance. The additional buses released from N Judah service will allow us to maintain existing bus service while also keeping our fleet in good working order.

The SFMTA continues to work closely with district supervisors, stakeholders and community members to bring back additional service and modify existing service to better balance our available resources with our customers’ needs. This is especially a priority for communities most dependent on transit and who have the fewest alternative transportation options for essential travel.

We will continue to provide updates with more details and a complete list of service changes as information is available.

Published February 18, 2021 at 02:03AM
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