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Rail News Home Passenger Rail

4/11/2019



Rail News: Passenger Rail

SFMTA to end switchbacks on light-rail line


To accommodate the elimination of switchbacks, a train will be on standby along the T Third Street line to fill gaps of service.
Photo – SFMTA

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The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) will end switchbacks on the T Third Street light-rail line in an effort to provide more reliable service to southeast San Francisco, agency officials announced this week.

To accommodate the elimination of switchbacks, a train will be on standby along the route to fill gaps of service and the agency will provide updated schedules with more accurate travel times.

Light-rail wait times and performance data will also be reviewed regularly and rail service controllers will be integrated into a modern transportation management center.  

A switchback occurs when a train changes directions in the middle of a scheduled run, usually to address service gaps throughout the system to provide more balanced service across the city, SFMTA officials said in a press release. 

“For years our residents in the southeast corner of San Francisco have felt isolated and disenfranchised and switchbacks on the T-Line have continued to keep us isolated, as they cause the train not to finish the route,”  San Francisco County Board Supervisor Shamann Walton said.