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Back to the Bus… Muni Shuts Down Subway Again

Just two days after reopening subway service, Muni shuts down rail again due to COVID and tech issues.
By - posted 8/25/2020 No Comment

Thanks to SF Gate and SF Examiner for letting us know that Muni has shut down their Metro tunnel/subway service just two days after restarting it.

SF Gate reports that two issues – including a positive COVID-19 test for someone in the system’s control enter, along with an overhead wiring issue will shut down subway service “for several weeks.” – Get the latest updates at sfmta.com/projects/rail-recovery

As of Tuesday, August 25th, all rail service will be provided by bus substitution.

  • J Bus will run Balboa Park to Church/Market every ~12 min
  • K Bus will run from Balboa Park to Embarcadero every ~15 min
  • L Bus will operate its full former route, with a single line all the way from the Zoo to Embarcadero every ~15 min.
  • N Bus will run from Ocean Beach to 4th/King every ~10 min
  • T Bus and M Bus will stay interlined and run from Sunnydale to Balboa Park approximately every ~12 min

Additionally, as of Tuesday morning, NextBus isn’t working on several lines.

After weeks of planning to restart our Muni Metro service, we unfortunately were forced to resume all bus service starting today. We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may cause.

Our need to temporarily suspend train service for several weeks is based on two problems that emerged yesterday:

  • An employee in our Transportation Management Center (TMC) – the nerve center of our rail system – tested positive for COVID-19. We wish them a speedy and full recovery. By doing thorough contract tracing, we now know that more of our vital team members need to be quarantined. This leaves us short-staffed in positions central to operating Muni Metro service safely and effectively.
  • A critical component of the overhead infrastructure that power our trains has failed twice in the last few days. After a problem with new equipment recently installed caused service disruptions twice in the past two days, staff worked quickly to provide a fix that we must implement before bringing the Metro back fully again. This is frustrating because our crews worked tirelessly over the last few months to address deferred maintenance in the tunnels.

For these reasons, we will be using our buses for all train service starting Tuesday, August 25, and working hard to get trains back on track as soon as we can. Shutting down the subway for quarantine will also allow for the replacement of the critical equipment in the subway.