T Third Street
 T Third Street
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 A T-Third Street train crossing the Islais Creek Channel |
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| Overview | |||
| Type | light rail | ||
| System | Muni Metro | ||
| Locale | San Francisco, California | ||
| Termini | West Portal Station (inbound), Embarcadero Station (outbound; continues as K Ingleside) Sunnydale Station |
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| Stations | 31 | ||
| Operation | |||
| Opened | April 2007 | ||
| Owner | San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency | ||
| Operator(s) | San Francisco Municipal Railway | ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | ||
| Electrification | overhead catenary | ||
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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 runs along the newly constructed light-rail tracks on Third Street and Bayshore Boulevard in the Visitacion Valley, Bayview/Hunters Point, Dogpatch, and Mission Bay neighborhoods, connecting to the existing Muni Metro system along the southern Embarcadero and below Market Street, and replaced the 15 Third bus line.
In the future, the line may be extended to Caltrain's Bayshore Station (to which it was originally planned to run) and, in the other direction, to San Francisco's Chinatown via the Central Subway project.
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[edit] Route Description
Following service changes on June 30, 2007, the T Third Street and the K Ingleside lines were spliced together, though keeping their respective line designations, resulting in an upside-down horseshoe-shaped route from Balboa Park to Bayshore and Sunnydale. At West Portal Station, inbound K trains heading towards downtown change their signs to the T line; conversely, at Embarcadero Station, T trains heading into downtown change signs to the K line. The trains show the ultimate destination of the spliced lines rather than the intermediate "terminus" of the individual line.
Leaving the Market Street Subway heading south, the T Third emerges from the portal and follows The Embarcadero south of Market Street, then veers onto King Street in front of AT&T Park until it reaches the Caltrain station terminal. This portion of the Muni Metro rail line between the Embarcadero portal and the Caltrain terminal was built in 1998 and is utilized by an extension of the N Judah, which, on weekdays, shares track with the T to the Caltrain terminal at 4th and King. From there the T turns south on Fourth Street, crossing the bridge over Mission Creek before joining Third Street for the majority of the route's length. It passes through Mission Bay where the UCSF Mission Bay branch is located, then continues on south through the Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods. Once both economically impoverished parts of the City, they have slowly experienced rehabilitation and rebuilding mainly helped by the new T line. At the intersection of Third and Jamestown Avenue, the T continues to run in both directions as it crosses U.S. Highway 101 (James Lick Freeway), although only Third Street is open to auto traffic northbound; likewise, southbound auto traffic is splintered to a southbound on ramp to Highway 101 and merges with San Bruno Avenue. From there the T follows Bayshore Boulevard (changed over from Third) for two more stations until it reaches its terminus at Sunnydale Station. A section of track follows one more block until stopped short at the Daly City limits.
All stations along this line feature high platforms, eliminating the need for the raising and lowering of entrance and exit steps characteristic of other Muni Metro lines. Stations listed below are in order going outbound, away from downtown. Stations south of Fourth and King feature short platforms that accommodate only two-car trains.
[edit] Operation
The T Third operates seven days a week, beginning at 5 a.m. weekdays, 6 a.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. Sundays, operating until 1 a.m.[1] Headways on the route range from 9 to 12 minutes during the day, and from 12 to 20 minutes at night. Late night service is provided by the 91 Owl diesel bus line on Third Street, and by the N-Owl diesel bus line on King Street, The Embarcadero and most of Market Street. There is also a T-Owl diesel bus line that runs from Market Street and Van Ness Avenue to Bayshore Boulevard and Sunnydale. This line only operates on weekend mornings, between the times owl service stops and the underground subway stations open.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official project website
- Map of the line
- Official Map of the T Line in PDF
- San Francisco Chronicle article about the T Third
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