SFMTA begins service along E Embarcadero streetcar line

Written by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
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SFMTA

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) launched the E Embarcadero (E Line) streetcar line, offering a single-seat ride from AT&T Park and the Caltrain station to Fisherman's Wharf and the northeast waterfront.

 

The E Line represents a component of the 10 percent service increase announced in April 2015 under the Municipal Railway (Muni) Forward program. Muni Forward, approved by the SFMTA Board of Directors in March 2014, is a series of initiatives specifically designed to increase service, reliability and safety. April’s service increases, under Muni Forward, benefited more than 165,000 customers daily and another round of increases are planned for fall 2015.

The E Line began weekend only service on August 1. Service will operate every 15 minutes between the hours of 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Specially designated double-ended streetcars will transport E Line riders along the same stops as the N Judah and T Third between Caltrain and Folsom Street. Unlike the N and T, which turn at the subway portal, the E Line will continue along The Embarcadero, joining the existing F Market stops to Fisherman’s Wharf.

“We’re pleased to be expanding our historic streetcar service along the Embarcadero from Fisherman’s Wharf to 4th and King,” said Ed Reiskin, SFMTA director of transportation. “The new E-Line creates more capacity and reduces crowding on the enormously popular waterfront of San Francisco. We are proud to work with our longtime historic preservation partners at Market Street Railway to bring this new service to San Franciscans and those who visit the city.”

Market Street Railway, a San Francisco not-for-profit that works to preserve historic transit, advocated for the expansion of the E Line for several years.

“It was then Mayor Dianne Feinstein who first supported the possibility of the E Line,” said Rick Laubscher, Market Street Railway president. “And under Ed Reiskin’s leadership, the SFMTA’s staff picked-up the reigns consulting with community leaders, waterfront businesses, residents and our organization to make a 32 year old plan actual service.”

SFMTA says reserving the very vehicles that are the backbone of both the E and F Lines was made possible, in part, through the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA). The SFCTA allocated more than $19 million in half-cent sales tax funds for historic streetcar rehabilitation, operations and maintenance.

 

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