Market Street Subway

Market Street Subway
	Muni's Duboce Portal at Duboce Avenue and Church Street
Overview
Type	Rapid transit and ; Light rail/Streetcar
System	BART Muni Metro
Locale	San Francisco, California
Termini	Embarcadero Station ; Castro Station
Stations	7
Operation
Opened	BART: November 5, 1973; Muni Metro: February 18, 1980
Owner	San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
Operator(s)	San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; San Francisco Municipal Railway
Character	two level cut-and-cover rapid transit and light rail tunnel
Technical
Track gauge	BART:; 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm); (Indian gauge); Muni Metro:; 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm); (standard gauge)
Electrification	BART:; Third rail, 1000 V DC ; Muni Metro:; Overhead lines, 600 V DC
Highest elevation	underground
Route diagram
	Legend
	Transbay Tube under
	San Francisco Bay
	This diagram: view ; talk ; edit ;

Last updated August 30, 2019

The Market Street Subway is a double-decker subway tunnel that carries Muni Metro and BART train traffic in San Francisco, California.^[1]^[2] It runs under the length of Market Street between Embarcadero Station and Castro Street Station. The upper level is used by Muni Metro lines and the lower level is used by BART lines. BART does not run through the whole subway; it turns south and runs under Mission Street southwest of Civic Center Station. The northeastern end of the BART level is connected to the Transbay Tube. On the Muni Metro level, the southwestern end of the Market Street Subway connects to the much-older Twin Peaks Tunnel, and the northeastern end connects to surface tracks along the Embarcadero.

The Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, United States, operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), a division of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). With an average weekday ridership of 162,500 passengers as of the fourth quarter of 2017, Muni Metro is the United States' third busiest light rail system. Muni Metro operates a fleet of 151 Breda light rail vehicles (LRVs), which are being supplemented and replaced by Siemens S200 SF LRVs.

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit public transportation system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The heavy rail elevated and subway system connects San Francisco and Oakland with urban and suburban areas in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties. BART serves 48 stations along six routes on 112 miles (180 km) of rapid transit lines, including a ten-mile spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which utilizes diesel multiple-unit trains and a 3.2-mile (5.1 km) automated guideway transit line to the Oakland International Airport. With an average of 423,000 weekday passengers and 124.2 million annual passengers in fiscal year 2017, BART is the fifth-busiest heavy rail rapid transit system in the United States.

San Francisco, officially City and County of San Francisco and colloquially known as SF, San Fran or "The City", is a city in—and the cultural, commercial, and financial center of—Northern California. San Francisco is the 13th most populous city in the United States, and the fourth most populous in California, with 883,305 residents as of 2018. It covers an area of about 46.89 square miles (121.4 km²), mostly at the north end of the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area, making it the second most densely populated large U.S. city, and the fifth most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs. San Francisco is the 12th-largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States, with 4,729,484 people in 2018. With San Jose, it forms the fifth most populous combined statistical area in the United States, the San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area.

History

The Market Street Railway had existed on the surface parallel to the subway's alignment in some form since 1860 with services terminating at the Ferry Building.^[3] To alleviate traffic, plans for a tunnel under Market Street can be dated to at least 1912.^[4] By 1918, there were four tracks running down the thoroughfare - two per direction.^[3] That plan is nearly identical to the design built 60 years later, including two levels of train traffic and provisions for both overhead and third-rail power delivery, but not accounting for a Transbay Tunnel.

The Market Street Railway Company was a commercial streetcar and bus operator in San Francisco. The company was named after the famous Market Street of that city, which formed the core of its transportation network. Over the years, the company was also known as the Market Street Railroad Company, the Market Street Cable Railway Company and the United Railroads of San Francisco.

The San Francisco Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay, a food hall and an office building. It is located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California.

The Twin Peaks Tunnel was built with the east end sloping downward, foreseeing future connection to a tunnel under Market Street.^[5]

The Twin Peaks Tunnel is a 2.27-mile (3.65 km) long light rail/streetcar tunnel in San Francisco, California. The tunnel runs under the Twin Peaks and is used by the K Ingleside/T Third Street, L Taraval, M Ocean View, and S Shuttle lines of the Muni Metro system.

Serious consideration for construction was finally given while designing the initial BART system. Original plans variously called for the current stations, less Embarcadero, with a connection to a (now unbuilt) subway under Geary Street or the existing Twin Peaks Tunnel.^{[ citation needed ]} The 1961 BART plan called for Muni operations in the subway only between Sansome and Gough Streets and did not have any provisions for the Embarcadero station.^[6]

Construction, commencing in July 1967, was carried out via the cut-and-cover method. By this time, Embarcadero station was planned and a station box was constructed with the tunnel, but was not slated to be complete with the initial opening of the subway.

BART trains first ran through the Subway with service as far as Daly City on November 5, 1973.^[7] Connections through the Transbay Tube were opened for revenue service on September 16, 1974.^[7] Embarcadero station was opened shortly after on May 27, 1976;^[7] its design is unique among Market Street BART stations.

Starting on February 18, 1980 and continuing for over a year afterward, Muni replaced surface operations with subway service at all stations in the tunnel. At that point, there were no plans to maintain the street-running tracks on Market Street, but that changed in the late 1980s after the success of several Historic Trolley Festivals. Muni's Embarcadero portal opened in 1998, and was not an original part of the subway's plan; this allowed connections to Caltrain's 4th and King Station. T Third trains began running in the subway with the line's inauguration on April 7, 2007. That line will be rerouted through Central Subway, which is a later-constructed tunnel running underneath the Market Street Subway east of Powell Street Station, when completed.

Services

The K Ingleside, L Taraval, M Ocean View, and T Third Street Muni Metro lines run through the entire length of the subway to its direct connection with the Twin Peaks Tunnel. The J Church and N Judah lines leave the subway via the Duboce portal at Church and Duboce streets. The Embarcadero Portal is currently used by just the N Judah and the T Third Street lines. Since the Muni Metro platforms at Montgomery Street, Powell Street, and Civic Center are long enough to hold two 75-foot (23 m) two-car trains simultaneously, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency began double-berthing in April 2015.^[8] Under this process, two trains are in the station at once: the rear train discharges passengers while the front train boards passengers. The new practice was aimed at reducing passenger frustration, though it would not reduce travel times. In 1997 work began to install the SelTrac CBTC-based signalling system in the subway. The work was completed in 2001 and station-to-station operation is now completely automated under normal operation.^[9]

BART headways are low through this segment, as the right of way carries four of the system's five rapid transit lines on just two tracks.

The F Market & Wharves heritage streetcar line, while not a Muni Metro service, runs on the surface for the entire length of the subway with connections at all stations.

Upon completion, the Central Subway will be connected to the Market Street Subway via a pedestrian underpass running from the existing Powell Street Station to the under-construction Union Square/Market Street Station a block away.

Stations in the Market Street Subway

There are a total of seven stations in the tunnel. Four are used by BART; all seven are used by the Muni Metro lines that had previously run on the surface of Market Street, as well as the T Third Street line until the completion of the Central Subway. Two Muni lines exit the tunnel at the Duboce portal, and thus do not serve two stations (although the J Church connects to Church Street at a surface stop).

Stations are listed from the northeast to the southwest.

Station	Platform Layout	Muni Metro
Embarcadero Station	island	J Church K Ingleside (outbound) L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street (inbound)
Montgomery Street Station	island	J Church K Ingleside (outbound) L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street (inbound)
Powell Street Station	island	J Church K Ingleside (outbound) L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street (inbound)
Civic Center / UN Plaza Station	island	J Church K Ingleside (outbound) L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street (inbound)
Van Ness Station	island	J Church K Ingleside (outbound) L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah T Third Street (inbound)
Church Street Station	side	K Ingleside (outbound) L Taraval M Ocean View T Third Street (inbound)
Castro Street Station	side	K Ingleside (outbound) L Taraval M Ocean View T Third Street (inbound)

Related Research Articles

The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni) is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California.

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 Francisco's retired fleet as well as from cities around the world. While the F line is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), its operation is supported by Market Street Railway, a nonprofit organization of streetcar enthusiasts which raises funds and helps to restore vintage streetcars.

The N Judah is a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco, California, so named as it runs along Judah Street for much of its length, named after railroad engineer Theodore Judah. It links downtown San Francisco to the Cole Valley and Sunset neighborhoods. It is the busiest line in the Muni Metro system, serving an average of 41,439 weekday passengers in 2013. It was one of San Francisco's streetcar lines, beginning operation in 1928, and was partially converted to modern light-rail operation with the opening of the Muni Metro system in 1980. While many streetcar lines were converted to bus lines after World War II, the N Judah remained a streetcar line due to its use of the Sunset Tunnel.

The L Taraval is a Muni Metro line in San Francisco, California, mainly serving the Parkside District.

The M Ocean View is a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco, California. It was one of San Francisco's streetcar lines in the early 20th century.

The K Ingleside is a Muni Metro line in San Francisco, California, mainly serving the West Portal and Ingleside neighborhoods. Opened on February 3, 1918, it was the first line to use the Twin Peaks Tunnel.

The J Church is a Muni Metro light rail line in San Francisco, California, mainly serving the Noe Valley and Balboa Park neighborhoods, connecting them to downtown.

Embarcadero is a BART and Muni Metro station in the Financial District of San Francisco. The easternmost stop on the Market Street Subway, Embarcadero acts as a major hub for passenger movement throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. With 45,460 exits each weekday in 2015, Embarcadero is the busiest station in the BART system, a title for which it vies with its western neighbor, Montgomery Street. It is the first stop in San Francisco for BART trains after crossing through the Transbay Tube from West Oakland. This station was an infill station, opening in May 1976, three years after the rest of this section of BART's system; it was the first infill station in the BART system.

Montgomery Street is a shared Muni Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit subway station in the Financial District of San Francisco. It is located on the Market Street Subway beneath Market Street, between Montgomery Street and Sansome Street. Like all of the shared BART and Muni stations on the Market Street Subway, the concourse mezzanine is on the first level down, an island platform for the Muni Metro is on the second level down, and the island platform for BART is on the third level down.

Powell Street is a shared Muni Metro and Bay Area Rapid Transit station near the intersection of Market Street and Powell Street in downtown San Francisco. The station is located along the Market Street Subway and extends underground from Fourth Street to Fifth Street. Hallidie Plaza connects to the station on the north side of Market Street. Like all of the shared BART and Muni stations on the Market Street Subway, the concourse mezzanine is on the first level down, an island platform for the Muni Metro is on the second level down, and the island platform for BART is on the third level down. The Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde cable car lines turn around at Powell and Market, above the station.

Civic Center/UN Plaza is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Muni Metro station in the Civic Center area of San Francisco. The westernmost of the dual BART/Muni stops on the Market Street Subway, Civic Center/UN Plaza acts as a major hub for passenger movement throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. With 18,432 exits each weekday, it is the fourth-busiest station in the BART system.

Eureka Valley station is an abandoned underground streetcar station in San Francisco, California. It was located inside the Twin Peaks Tunnel, 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 T Third Street is a Muni Metro line in San Francisco, California. It is the first new light rail line in San Francisco in more than half a century, and the first fully accessible line in the system. It is also the first true light rail line in the mostly streetcar Muni Metro system, as it operates mostly in a street median, rather than in mixed traffic.

San Francisco 4th and King Street, 4th and King, or Caltrain Depot is the north end of the Caltrain commuter rail line to the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley, and is a major area transit hub. It is next to a Muni Metro light rail station, which provides connections to downtown San Francisco and Bay Area Rapid Transit.

Duboce and Church is a light rail stop on the Muni Metro J Church and N Judah lines, located in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Just east of the station, the two lines enter the Market Street Subway. The station originally opened with the 22 Fillmore line in 1895.

References

↑ Transit Rider Bay Area, California Muni
↑ San Francisco Muni Metro Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
1 2 Market Street Railway (2004). A Brief History of Market St. Railway . Retrieved September 23, 2005. Section The Market Street Railroad Company, 1860-1882 Archived September 21, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
↑ "REPORT ON MARKET STREET RAPID TRANSIT TUNNEL". Electric Railway Journal. XL: 883. 19 October 1912. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
↑ Callwell, Robert. "Transit in San Francisco A Selected Chronology, 1850 - 1995" (PDF). SFMTA.com. San Francisco Municipal Railway. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
↑ "Rapid Transit for the San Francisco Bay Area" (PDF). LA Metro Library. Parsons Brinkerhoff / Tudor / Bechtel. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
1 2 3 "BART Historical Timeline" (PDF). Bay Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
↑ Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald (April 9, 2015). "Muni given go-ahead for double berthing at downtown stations". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
↑ http://www.tsd.org/SFMuni48TPH.doc

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[TransitRider-1] Transit Rider Bay Area, California Muni

[About-2] San Francisco Muni Metro Archived 2007-12-19 at the Wayback Machine

[msrabh1-3] 1 2 Market Street Railway (2004). A Brief History of Market St. Railway . Retrieved September 23, 2005. Section The Market Street Railroad Company, 1860-1882 Archived September 21, 2005, at the Wayback Machine

[4] "REPORT ON MARKET STREET RAPID TRANSIT TUNNEL". Electric Railway Journal. XL: 883. 19 October 1912. Retrieved 23 July 2018.

[5] Callwell, Robert. "Transit in San Francisco A Selected Chronology, 1850 - 1995" (PDF). SFMTA.com. San Francisco Municipal Railway. Retrieved 24 July 2018.

[1961Report-6] "Rapid Transit for the San Francisco Bay Area" (PDF). LA Metro Library. Parsons Brinkerhoff / Tudor / Bechtel. Retrieved 21 July 2018.

[timeline-7] 1 2 3 "BART Historical Timeline" (PDF). Bay Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved August 29, 2019.

[8] Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald (April 9, 2015). "Muni given go-ahead for double berthing at downtown stations". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 26 May 2015.

[9] ttp://www.tsd.org/SFMuni48TPH.doc