Start-Up of SFMTA’s New Third Street Light Rail Line

In 2007 the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) launched service on its newest rail line, a 5.5 mile double-track extension with 18 surface stations along San Francisco’s eastern waterfront. The new rail was constructed in the median of a major commute and trucking corridor. The introduction of service on this new “T-Line” culminated many years of project planning, followed by 6 years of construction, at a cost of over $350M. The process of turning over the project to SFMTA’s operating divisions and integrating it into the Municipal Railway’s (Muni’s) operating environment was the most complex service expansion since the Market Street subway opened in 1980. It required close coordination with every SFMTA division, other stakeholder agencies, and the public. This paper discusses how the operating plan was developed, how the start-up effort was managed, issues key to success, and lessons learned.