New Streetcar Line Set to Open August 1 in City by the Bay

San Francisco's historic or vintage streetcar line is about to double in size. The crowded F Line, operating from Castro Street to Fisherman's Wharf, will soon be sharing streetcars and tracks with its sister line, the E-Embarcadero Line, operating from the Caltrain station, past AT&T (San Francisco Giants) ballpark, merging with the F Line at the Ferry Building, and continuing to Fisherman's Wharf.

Credit: San Francisco Railway Museum • On the F-Line • Steuart St. Stop

"Originally conceived by San Francisco Tomorrow in the 1970s, it wasn’t until [U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, then-San Francisco mayor] backed the project in the ’80s that the trolley’s future was secured," writes Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez for the San Francisco Examiner. 

"It takes a tremendous amount of patience to make dreams come true in San Francisco,” said Rick Laubscher, president of the Market Street Railway Association, a "non-profit group dedicated to the acquisition, restoration and operation of historic transit vehicles in the city," according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority (SFMTA), the city's public transit operator.

Rodriguez does an excellent job of explaining the history behind the E Line, crediting those who made it happen; so much so that Market Street Railway wrote their own article, "Great E-line Startup Piece in The Examiner." The new E Line will operate on weekends only beginning August 1 with daily service to start next year. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez fittingly provides the recent history for the historic line.

"Right after this shot was snapped, Mayor Dianne Feinstein (left) took the controls of Muni Car No.1 and personally piloted it down Market Street to open the first Trolley Festival in June 1983. That success led to the permanent F-line, and now the E-line." Credit: Market Street Railway.

Feinstein's role can not be downplayed. Just as Mayor Michael Bloomberg played an instrumental role in the creation of New York's High Line after his predecessor, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, tried to kill it, as noted here, Feinstein, working with MTA and Market Street Railway got the F Line, and now the E Line, launched.

“I congratulate the SFMTA on finally achieving this milestone, one we envisioned when I was Mayor,” Feinstein wrote in an email to the Examiner. “Most especially, I am extremely proud of the Market Street Railway Association, led by Rick Laubscher, for their tireless advocacy; without their support, this never would have come to fruition. Now, onto the next challenge — extend the line from Fisherman’s Wharf to Fort Mason!”

On that last note, she refers to an extension from Fisherman's Wharf "through an old tunnel that links Aquatic Park to Fort Mason." The Environmental Impact Statement [PDF] has been completed.

Unlike other historic or replica streetcar lines, San Francisco's streetcars operates more like the oldest public transit in the United States, the New Orleans streetcars, as it serves the local population as well as tourists, as explained here last August.