VIDEO: LRV4 is Officially in Service!

The first new Muni train is officially in service, marking a major transportation milestone for the city of San Francisco. These one-in-a-generation trains are more comfortable, reliable, and rider-friendly. They include a new seating configuration that will provide wider aisles for more capacity, better customer signage, quieter cars and improved design that will reduce delays.  This new car represents the first of more than 200 vehicles that will add more train service that will reduce congestion, improve service frequency and overall service for hundreds of thousands of daily riders.

Today, we invited the press and community to hear city leaders speak about LRV4’s new features in a celebratory event. SFMTA Director Ed Reiskin was joined by Mayor Ed Lee, Board of Supervisors President London Breed, Assemblymember Phil Ting, and other local and state leaders to welcome Car 2006 into service. With a big shiny red bow placed in front of the train, many remarked that the new light-rail vehicle feels like a present for San Francisco’s riders of public transit.

The train rollout plan is ahead of schedule. The initial rollout plan specified that 24 trains would be in service by the end of next year and now the agency is currently on pace to rollout 68 new vehicles over the same period of time. The new trains will ultimately expand the fleet by 68 and then eventually replace it.

The new Siemens-manufactured trains are sleeker, quieter and safer than the current train fleet. The new trains are also expected to be far more reliable, running an average of 59,000 miles without breakdowns, compared to less than 5,000 miles with our current trains. These trains also have far fewer mechanical parts within the doors and raising steps, which are the single biggest cause of delays in the Metro system. All of the trains are built locally at the Siemens plant in Sacramento, California.

The first vehicle enters revenue service a little over three years after Siemens was provided their Notice to Proceed in September 2014. This represents an accelerated schedule, much faster than similar procurements which typically take four or five years to achieve the same milestone. The project team has also spent much of 2017 putting the first cars through a rigorous set of tests to make sure they perform as expected. This upfront time and effort will allow for an increased delivery rate and get the cars into service sooner than planned.

The inaugural trip took place along the N-Judah line, and commuters were excited to jump aboard the shiny new train. The train continued in service with trips between Ocean Beach and Caltrain.

The first train to go into service will honor Larry Martin, a respected community leader with a distinguished legacy of civil rights and union advocacy for the people of San Francisco. He was a dedicated City employee whose career began at Muni in 1966.

Features of the new state-of-the-art trains

·         New trains will eventually expand the fleet by more than 70 percent.

·         Significantly less malfunctions with doors and steps, which are the single biggest reason for delays on the current Metro trains, which have  more than 200 moving parts.

·         Destination sign is visible from up to 200 feet away

·         Space designed for strollers, leaning pads, and pull-down seats

·         Longitudinal seating allows for wider aisles to increase capacity, which was informed by public input

LRV 4 Rolls into Service