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Mayor London Breed Announces $130 Million State Grant to Upgrade SFMTA's Metro Technology
10/31/2024
[ Article originally appeared in www.sf.gov ]
Mayor London Breed today joined the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to announce a $130 million state grant to modernize Muni’s train control system and make the Muni metro more efficient and reliable. The grant was awarded from the State of California’s Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP), which provides Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants to modernize urban rail systems like San Francisco’s Muni Metro. Modernizing Muni Metro’s train control is the most critical long-term investment to improve Metro reliability, safety and service. Customers will have shorter, smoother rides with fewer delays citywide. This means a more predictable, reliable ride, faster travel and fewer missed connections. “Making Muni more reliable, faster, and safer are all key to bringing back riders, supporting workers and neighborhoods, and continuing our long-term growth as we build new housing across our entire City,” said Mayor London Breed. “We are grateful for this state funding at a time when we are working hard to create long-term stability for our public transportation system. San Francisco must have well-functioning and efficient transportation to thrive.” “Muni has made so much progress — with more reliable, efficient service — and the missing piece is a modernized train control system. This significant state investment will allow Muni to complete this crucial system upgrade,” said Senator Scott Wiener. “Today’s announcement also showcases the transformative impact of state budget support for public transportation. We worked hard to secure billions in the state budget for transit upgrades like those announced today, and we protected those funds from budget cuts last year and this year in the face of budget deficits. I’m proud of our coalition for demanding that California step up for public transportation, which is essential for our economy, climate goals, and quality of life.” The grant will be used to implement Phase 2 of the Train Control Upgrade Project (TCUP), which will replace the outdated, 30-year-old automatic train control system currently in San Francisco’s subway system. This funding builds on the $30 million TIRCP grant previously awarded for Phase 1 of the project in July 2022, which will install the new train control system along on-street rail between Embarcadero and Mission Bay. “To prevent an extended subway shutdown, it’s critical to replace Muni Metro’s deeply outdated train control system,” said SFMTA Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin. “In the process, we have a unique opportunity to upgrade the system to the latest technology and extend it beyond the subways to all the on-street Muni Metro corridors citywide. TIRCP funds will go a long way to helping us complete this safety and operations-critical investment.” TCUP will replace the technology that makes Muni Metro work with a quantum leap forward in fast, frequent, reliable Metro service and transit connections citywide. A modern, state-of-the-art Communications-Based Train Control system will be installed throughout the Muni Metro network citywide in multiple phases starting with on-street rail between Embarcadero and Mission Bay, followed by the subways, and finally the remaining on-street rail segments in the south and west sides of the city. “Replacing the SFMTA’s antiquated train control system is a critical project that is long past due. Learning from many lessons of the past, the agency has an unparalleled opportunity here to remedy a good number of longstanding rider concerns, ensuring that the backbone of San Francisco’s essential public transit system can more smoothly function for years to come,” said Aaron Leifer, Chair of the SFMTA Citizens Advisory Council. The project is currently on track to launch in 2025 and expects to complete Phase 1 by 2028. Phase 2 will start in last 2026 and is expected to be completed in early 2030. The remaining phases will finish in 2032.
For additional project information including benefits, timeline and phasing, visit SFMTA.com/TrainControl. Back To News |
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