Third Street Light Rail Project

Third Street Light Rail
New tracks on 3rd Street north of 16th Street in September 2005
Overview
Type	Light rail
System	Muni Metro
Locale	San Francisco, California
Stations	18
Operation
Opened	April 7, 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) (standard gauge)
Electrification	Overhead lines, 600 V DC
Route map Central Subway 2019 4th & King 4th Street Bridge Mission Rock UCSF Mission Bay Mariposa 20th St. 23rd St. Metro East Yard Marin St. Islais Creek Bridge Evans Hudson/Innes Kirkwood/La Salle Oakdale/Palou Revere/Shafter Williams Carroll Gilman/Paul Le Conte US 101 Arleta Sunnydale Bayshore Station planned This diagram:

The Third Street Light Rail Project was the construction project that expanded the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California, linking downtown San Francisco to the historically underserved southeastern neighborhoods of Bayview-Hunters Point and Visitacion Valley along the eastern side of the city. Construction was finished in late 2006, non-revenue weekend service began on January 13, 2007, and full service began on April 7, 2007. The new service, as the T Third Street Metro line, replaced the 15 Third bus line, which ran south from the Caltrain Depot at 4th and King streets, along Third Street and Bayshore Boulevard to the southeastern neighborhoods.

In 1993, the San Francisco Municipal Railway published the Bayshore Transit Study, which offered the following seven goals:

The Bayshore Transit Study presented nine alternatives (including a "do nothing" alternative) ranging from building a trolley coach to expanding the MUNI Metro light rail system. In the two alternative light rail routes proposed, rail service would be extended south to Caltrain's Bayshore Station along Third Street from the Financial Disrict. Potential future extensions studied included lines along Hunter's Point, in Little Hollywood (to Candlestick Park), and along Bayshore and Geneva to the Balboa Park Station.

The project was initially budgeted at $667 million. As of July 2006, the budget increased by $120 million.

The T Third officially starts at West Portal, when trains switch signs from their original K Ingleside designation to T Third prior to proceeding through the Twin Peaks Tunnel and Market Street Subway to the Caltrain Depot at 4th and King streets and then along the new extension. The 15-Third bus line was eliminated and the 8-Bayshore bus line was extended to replace the 15 in areas not served by the metro extension, including City College and Fisherman's Wharf.