T Third Train Back Today!

Today is the day! T Third resumed rail service this morning after 10 weeks of bus substitution from Embarcadero to Sunnydale.

While the switch from riding the train instead of a bus is obvious to a Muni customer, there are some behind the scenes changes that have major impacts on our transit system.

Rail work

If you’re living near or traveling by the UCSF Mission Bay platform it’s hard to miss that the platforms were demolished and a new, much larger platform is under construction, but you may not have noticed the very detailed rail work that has been going on the last few months. The new 320-foot platform will be able to accommodate four, two-car trains and serve about 700 customers at one time. Over 3,500 track feet of the new rail was installed, including two sections that allow the trains to change tracks or change directions called crossovers. These crossovers look a bit like spaghetti on the tracks and are controlled by a series of switches that shift the train’s access from one track to another. The single and the double crossovers will help more trains move more people in and out of Mission Bay by allowing the trains, which often travel on a fixed route, to have some flexibility.

Trainyard at Muni Metro East

To support the rail work, the construction crews needed full access, which meant no trains could use the tracks during some periods of construction. If you live or work in Mission Bay you may have seen trains stored overnight right on the trackway at a few locations. The full closure of a section of trackway near the construction site meant Muni Metro East (MME), one of Muni’s largest yards, housing most of our trains near 3rd and Caesar Chavez, had multiple planned closures since no trains were able to pull in or out. These closures included housing trains at multiple locations and heavy internal coordination to ensure that trains were still able to get the care and maintenance needed to serve the system.

Transit operations and maintenance are a huge part of any transit system and not having access to a train yard can be critical to a system’s healthy functioning. The internal coordination of this type of planned closure is impressive and involves staff at all levels of Muni.

We thank you for your patience over the last few months during construction and the bus substitutions of T Third. Please note the UCSF Mission Bay platform will continue to be out of service through April. Please use Mission Rock and Mariposa as alternatives. Stay tuned for an official platform opening date.