MUNI Metro Tunnel and Extension

The MUNI Metro Tunnel station at Castro had only been open a few days in this 1980 photo by Doug Grotjahn.

Metro Tunnel-Embarcadero to West Portal

The original MUNI Metro tunnel ran under Market Street, with Embarcadero as its terminal. This station is shared with the first BART station in the City of San Francisco. The four BART/MUNI joint stations (Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, and Civic Center) are essentially similar. The arrangement from street down is mezzanine level fare control, MUNI level, and BART level, each of which has two tracks and one island platform.

When built, the MUNI Metro tunnel ended at Embarcadero, with trains reversing in a manner familiar to riders of the IRT #7 line at Times Square. During the 1990's, a new complex of switchback tracks was constructed east of the original station, which included new trackage continuing south to a new portal at Embarcadero and Folsom. This line continues south along the Embarcadero then turns inland past the new baseball park and currently terminates adjacent the CalTrain suburban rail station. When this line opened in January 1998 it was operated as a shuttle from Embarcadero, but as of late August 1998 it has become through-routed with the N-Judah line.

Montgomery is the busiest of the MUNI Metro stations and is in the heart of San Francisco's financial district. Popular with tourists, the Powell station is adjacent to a shopping mall and the Powell/Market cable car terminus.

Civic Center station, nearby to City Hall, the New Public Library, and the San Francisco Opera, is unique in that the station design originally included stairs between levels for free transfers, but these are now closed off with stainless steel bars. Free transfer between BART and MUNI can be made with certain types of BART and MUNI monthly tickets at any of the joint stations.

The Van Ness, Church, and Castro stations were built as part of the MUNI Metro construction but are not shared with the BART system. Each features a fare-control mezzanine and track level, with dark brick walls on both levels. Van Ness has an island platform, while Church and Castro have two side platforms.

Between Van Ness and Church St. stations, the tunnels widen to allow for a a set of crossover switches and a connection to the street level trackage known as Duboce Junction. The J and N services use the junction to continue their routes to the south and west on the surface.

Castro station provides a transfer to the F-Market surface streetcar line. Departing Castro station to the south, one can see a set of ramp tracks to the surface, which are now used only in emergency, but were built to facilitate construction of the MUNI Metro tunnel, allowing streetcars from the Twin Peaks tunnel to access Market Street. These ramps are still tied into the Market St. surface tracks west of Castro. The Castro station is directly below the location of the original portals of the Twin Peaks tunnel. Once past these ramp tracks, there is an abandoned low level station at Eureka Valley, closed in 1972 during the MUNI Metro construction.

The Forest Hill station is a major surface bus transfer point and is adjacent to a hospital. This station was originally built with low platforms as part of the Twin Peaks Tunnel construction, but was then modified for LRV service during the MUNI Metro construction. Fare control is at street level with stairs and elevators to platform level. The station was originally named "Laguna Honda", and this name still appears on the entrance kiosk.

The West Portal Station, rebuilt as part of the MUNI Metro construction, is one of the three portals on the MUNI Metro subway, and serves the most lines. The K, L, and M streetcars exit the subway here and diverge serving their separate routes. Former operation of these three lines saw trains of cars operated through the tunnel and then decoupled (or coupled for inbound trips), in service, at the West Portal station. Theoretically this allows higher throughput in the Metro subway but with the introduction of ATC in the tunnel segment this practice is largely discontinued.

Embarcadero Extension

The newest portion of the MUNI Metro subway includes a new portal south of Market Street onto the Embarcadero. Metro cars run in a median right of way along Embarcadero to 4th & King, the location of Caltrain's San Francisco terminal, and along the way pass the site of the new waterfront baseball park for the San Francisco Giants. Stops along the new extension are made at Folsom, Brannan, 2nd & King, and 4th & King. Extension service is primarily provided by the N-Judah cars, although initial operation was performed by E-Embarcadero shuttles between Embarcadero station in the subway and the 4th & King station. Additional service is run along the extensions for baseball game crowds.

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