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Central Subway Project

The Central Subway Project will improve public transportation in San Francisco by extending the Muni Metro T Third Line through SoMa, Union Square and Chinatown. By providing a direct, rapid transit link between downtown and the existing T Third Line route on 3rd Street, the Central Subway will vastly improve transportation to and from some of the city's busiest, most densely populated areas.

When the Central Subway is completed, T Third Line trains will travel mostly underground from the 4th Street Caltrain Station to Chinatown, bypassing heavy traffic on congested 4th Street and Stockton Street. Four new stations will be built along the 1.7-mile alignment:

  • 4th and Brannan Station at 4th and Brannan streets (street level)
  • Yerba Buena/Moscone Station at 4th and Folsom streets (subway)
  • Union Square/Market Street Station on Stockton Street at Union Square (subway)
  • Chinatown Station at Stockton and Washington streets (subway)

Check out our video tour of the project alignment.
 

Additional Resources
 

Project Timeline 
Design
2009-2013
Completed
Construction
2011-2019
Pending
Testing
2018-2019
Pending
Revenue Service
2019
Pending
Predicted Completion
2019
Project Status
Current
Project Success
On budget
Improvements
SFMTA Muni Metro train icon
SFMTA Muni bus icon
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Bus Routes and Rail Lines
KT: K Ingleside/T Third Street
Neighborhoods
Financial District
South of Market
Downtown/Civic Center
Chinatown
Streets
Stockton Street, 4th Street

Office Hours

Have a question about the Central Subway Project?  Stop by our construction office to get assistance from project staff during our Community Drop-In Office Hours:

Central Subway Project Office
530 Bush St. Suite 400 (4th Floor)
M-F 9am to 5pm

You may also contact project staff with your questions/concerns at Central.Subway@SFMTA.com or call 415.701.4371.

Funding

The Central Subway Project is funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the State of California, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority and the City and County of San Francisco.

The majority of funding for the Central Subway Project will be provided by the FTA’s New Starts program, with a total commitment over the life of the project of $948.4 million. An additional $41 million in federal funds is designated to the project as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, which supports environmental efforts for surface transportation and related projects. The federal funds allocated for the Central Subway Project cannot be redirected for investment in any other San Francisco projects.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) baseline budget for the Central Subway Project remains at $1.578 billion. There has been no increase in the local funding commitment since original voter approval in 2003 of $126 million in Proposition B/K sales tax funds.

In total, about half of the funding for the entire Third Street Light Rail Transit Project is from federal sources, with the remaining half from state and local sources.  The Central Subway Project is one of the nation’s highest-rated projects in the FTA's New Starts program.

Project video(s)
  • The forward portion of tunnel boring machine Mom Chung is seen being assembled.
  • A mining service vehicle enters TBM Mom Chung during southbound tunnel construction.
  • A look inside the forward shield portion of TBM Big Alma during northbound tunnel construction.
  • Workers attach new sections of utility pipes and conduit to the southbound tunnel wall as the trailing gear moves forward.
  • TBM Big Alma emerges (left) alongside TBM Mom Chung (right) inside the North Beach retrieval shaft.
  • Project and agency staff watch TBM Big Alma emerge inside the North Beach retrieval shaft in 2014.
  • Following the completion of tunneling, both TBMs are disassembled and removed from the North Beach retrieval shaft.
  • View looking north inside the tunnel portal under 4th Street between Harrison and Bryant.
  • Two men ready a section of drill casing before lifting it up the ramp to the drill rig positioned as part of grouting work for t
  • A clear view looking north down the Union Square/Market Street station invert, following the removal of temporary bracing.
  • Workers construct final structural elements of the Yerba Buena/Moscone station platform.
  • Concrete forms are constructed for future emergency egress stairs on the east side of Stockton at O'Farrell.
  • A crew pours concrete around future elevator footings inside the Yerba Buena/Moscone station box.
  • A metalworker cleans up the ends of a large steel I-beam for welding, which will be used as a bracket at the south headwall.
  • Workers traverse the site carefully during the last of the tunnel portal invert concrete pour, completing the foundation and roa
  • Two short sections of rail are welded together using this machine near 4th and Bluxome.
  • Another length of rail is lifted into place onto steel rollers to be moved north up 4th Street.
  • A large bulldozer approaches the excavation spoils collection and sorting area under the main access shaft inside the Chinatown
  • A carpenter builds part of a concrete form in the northwest corner of the YBM station headhouse.
  • Two men weld and shape steel brackets along the east wall of the station box, near the south UMS headwall.
  • A worker walks atop the rebar cage of the invert slab at the north end of the Union Square/Market Street station box.
  • A carpenter cuts a 2x4 as part of concrete form assembly inside the YBM station headhouse.
  • Curved formwork mark the edges of future curbs and gutters during sidewalk restoration work at 4th and Townsend.
  • Workers use a shotcrete spraying machine inside the top header of the north platform cavern of Chinatown Station.
  • Carpenters cut boards to build cross-bracing as part of concrete form construction at the south headwall of the UMS station box.
  • Workers signal from the bottom of the Yerba Buena/Moscone Station headhouse to the surface.
  • Prepared strands of rebar wait at the surface worksite just north of O'Farrell to be lowered into the UMS station box.
  • Drill casings surround a worker pausing for a bulldozer to pass during excavation of the Chinatown Station platform cavern.
  • Workers check rail spacers, mounting bolts, and rebar as preparation before pouring concrete for future track plinths at YBM.
  • Steel mesh and shotcrete are being installed at the south headwall of the UMS station box, just south of O'Farrell and Stockton.
  • Sections of rail are bolted down on the west side of the tunnel portal, just north of the 4th and Bryant intersection.
  • Tourists, shoppers, and locals mingle at the first annual Winter Walk, held during the holidays on Stockton north of Market St.
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Contact Information
Central Subway Outreach Team
central.subway@sfmta.com
415.701.4371
Eric Stassevitch, Program Construction Manager
eric.stassevitch@sfmta.com