S Shuttle

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S Shuttle
S Shuttle logo.svg
S Shuttle train at Embarcadero station, October 2017.JPG
A 2-Car S Shuttle train at Embarcadero station in 2017.
Overview
OwnerSan Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
LocaleSan Francisco, California
TerminiEmbarcadero station
West Portal station
Stations9
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemMuni Metro
Operator(s)San Francisco Municipal Railway
History
OpenedApril 2, 2001 (2001-04-02)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
(standard gauge)
ElectrificationOverhead lines, 600 V DC
Route diagram

Legend
UpperLeft arrow Bay Area Rapid Transit | Up arrow N Judah T Third Street
Left arrow F Market & Wharves | K Ingleside M Ocean View
Embarcadero
San Francisco Ferry Building Bay Area Rapid Transit
Montgomery
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Union Square/​Market Street
(2022)
Powell
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Civic Center
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Van Ness
Church
Castro
F Market & Wharves
to surface tracks on
Market Street (closed 1982)
Eureka Valley
closed
1972
Forest Hill
West Portal
T Third Street
L Taraval to SF Zoo

The S Shuttle is a light rail service on the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. The service began in 2001 as the S Castro Shuttle, an effort to reduce crowding at Castro station. It was briefly discontinued in 2007 when the T Third Street line was opened. Service was extended to St. Francis Circle station in 2013, but cut back to West Portal station in 2016. In 2020, it was changed to full-time service as part of a reconfiguration of Muni Metro service.[1]

The designation of S Shuttle is also given to trains at other hours and locations, including service run before and after San Francisco Giants games to provide additional capacity to Oracle Park, as well as unscheduled trains operated anywhere in the system.

History[]

S Castro Shuttle rollsign on a game-day extra train in 2007.
An S Shuttle train crossing over near West Portal station in 2017.

After the installation of automatic train control in 1998, the maximum Muni Metro frequency through the Market Street subway doubled from 24 trains per hour to 48. Muni needed to increase capacity to accommodate growing ridership, but the aging Boeing LRV fleet and issues with the new Breda fleet left too few vehicles to run additional service on the branch lines. Instead, Muni introduced the S Castro Shuttle, which could relieve crowding at busy Castro station while using only a small amount of rolling stock. The service began on April 2, 2001, running only at rush hour on weekdays, with headways between 7 and 12 minutes.[2]

A variety of service changes took place with the introduction of full service on the T Third Street line on April 7, 2007. The new line was routed through the subway to Castro station, replacing the S Castro Shuttle; changes were also made to the J Church, N Judah, and several bus lines.[3] (The S Castro Shuttle designation continued to be used for extra service to AT&T Park on San Francisco Giants game days.) The changes were unpopular with the public; the Muni Metro changes caused severe delays in the Market Street subway, and forced many riders to transfer to reach the Caltrain station when they previously did not. On June 30, 2007, Muni reversed several of the changes. The J, N, and S were restored to their previous routes, while the T was interlined with the K Ingleside line.[4] The revived shuttle ran on 10-minute headways using three trains.[5][6]

On October 4, 2013, Muni began a pilot of S Shuttle service, which included the first three-car train on Muni Metro since the 1990s.[7] The three-car train and a two-car train ran between Embarcadero and St. Francis Circle station with only six morning round trips and one evening round trip; the last morning trips ran through to 23rd Street on their way to the Muni Metro East facility.[8] However, the three-car set proved unreliable, and perennial rolling stock shortages caused the shuttles to be frequently cancelled in favor of branch line service.[9]

On November 7, 2016, Muni changed the service to a pair of single-car trains running between West Portal station and Embarcadero. The revamped service, which was modeled after similar Hillway shuttles on the N Judah line, ran during weekday morning rush hours.[10] Although it nominally switched back at West Portal, service often instead used a more reliable crossover at Taraval and 19th Avenue station. By 2019, the SFMTA described the S Shuttle as an irregular route meant to supplement other Muni services.[11]

On March 30, 2020, Muni Metro service was replaced with buses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] Rail service returned on August 22, with the routes reconfigured to improve reliability in the subway. S Shuttle service frequency was increased, as three other lines no longer entered the subway; two- and three-car trains operated between West Portal and Embarcadero on 6–9 minute headways.[1] Rail service was re-replaced with buses on August 25 due to issues with malfunctioning overhead wire splices and the need to quarantine control center staff after a COVID-19 case.[13] K/T and N subway service resumed on May 15, 2021, with S Shuttle service operated to supplement.[14][15]

Station listing[]

Station Neighborhood Other Muni
Metro lines
Notes and connections
Disabled access West Portal West Portal K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third Street Bus transport Muni: 48, 57, 91 Owl, Muni Metro Owl buses
Disabled access Forest Hill Forest Hill and Laguna Honda K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third Street Bus transport Muni: 36, 43, 44, 52
Disabled access Castro Castro K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third Street Bus transport Muni: 24, 35, Muni Metro Owl buses; Heritage streetcar F Market & Wharves
Disabled access Church Duboce Triangle J ChurchK InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third Street Bus transport Muni: 22, 37, Muni Metro Owl buses; Heritage streetcar F Market & Wharves
Disabled access Van Ness Civic Center and Tenderloin K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third StreetN Judah Bus transport Muni: 6, 7, 9, 9R, 47, 49, 79X, 90, Muni Metro Owl buses; Heritage streetcar F Market & Wharves
Bus transport AC Transit
Disabled access Civic Center Civic Center K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third StreetN Judah Muni: Heritage streetcar F Market & Wharves, Bus transport buses (list)
Bay Area Rapid Transit BART; Bus transport AC Transit
Disabled access Powell Financial District K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third StreetN Judah Muni: Heritage streetcar F Market & Wharves, Powell Street cable cars; Bus transport buses (list)
Bay Area Rapid Transit BART; Bus transport AC Transit
Disabled access Montgomery K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third StreetN Judah Muni: Heritage streetcar F Market & Wharves, Bus transport buses (list)
Bay Area Rapid Transit BART
Bus transport Regional bus service at Transbay Transit Center
Disabled access Embarcadero K InglesideL TaravalM Ocean ViewT Third StreetN Judah Muni: Tram interchange F Market & Wharves, California Street cable car; Bus transport buses (list)
Bay Area Rapid Transit BART
Bus transport Regional bus service at Transbay Transit Center
ferry/water interchange Regional ferry service at Ferry Building

References[]

  1. ^ a b Maguire, Mariana (August 18, 2020). "Major Muni Service Expansion August 22" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
  2. ^ "Chapter 3: Transportation Analysis". Transbay Terminal / Caltrain Downtown Extension / Redevelopment Project EIS/EIR (PDF). Federal Transit Administration. March 2004. pp. 3–10.
  3. ^ "Discover the T-Third" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. 2007. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2007.
  4. ^ "SFMTA announces service changes effective June 30, 2007" (Press release). San Francisco Transportation Agency. June 30, 2007. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007.
  5. ^ "Chapter 3: Transportation Analysis". Central Subway Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement / Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (PDF). 1. Federal Transit Administration. September 2008. pp. 3–9.
  6. ^ "S Inbound Weekday". 511 SF Bay. Archived from the original on September 24, 2012.
  7. ^ Kwong, Jessica (October 11, 2013). "Muni's three-train shuttle service a hit with riders". The San Francisco Examiner.
  8. ^ "S Inbound Weekday". 511 SF Bay. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014.
  9. ^ "Roomier Trains: Have Muni Subway Shuttles Helped Your Commute?" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. November 7, 2016.
  10. ^ "More Muni Subway Service Coming for a Roomier Metro Ride" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. October 20, 2016.
  11. ^ "S Shuttle". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  12. ^ Fowler, Amy (March 26, 2020). "Starting March 30: New Muni Service Changes" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
  13. ^ "Bus Substitution for All Rail Lines" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. August 25, 2020.
  14. ^ "Welcome Back to the Westside, K Ingleside Trains!" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. April 16, 2021.
  15. ^ "Rail Recovery". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021.

External links[]

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