The first passengers have already been able to take a test ride on certain weekend days and try out the new line since 19 November 2022, but now the time has come: Since 7 January 2023, the extended Line T has been running the new “Central Subway” in San Francisco. This includes a 2 km long tunnel section in the city centre with a subsequent on-surface connection to the existing light rail network, which emerged from the former tram network in San Francisco in the last decades and is not to be confused with the actual Metro BART.
During the “familiarisation period” since November, the light rail vehicles only ran on the Chinatown-Rose Pak – 4th & Brannan section with its three underground stations Chinatown-Rose Pak, Union Square/Market St and Yerba Buena/Moscone. The Union Square/Market St station in particular is located at great depth, as the new tunnel passes under the existing tunnel sections along Market Street. Since 7 January, the trains run beyond the 4th & Brannan station and merge near the Caltrain station with the previously used route to Sunnydale in the south-east of the city. The short section between Caltrain / 4th/King and the former Brannan terminus of the T line is now served by the extended N line.
The opening on 7 January was attended by Mayoress London Breed and other city representatives, as well as former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.
The T Line now operates the new section every 10 minutes from 6am to midnight on Mondays-Fridays, and at weekends the service starts at 8am with a train every 12 minutes. The lines is operated with coupled pairs of vehicles.