SFMTA’s Central Subway Project is finally open downtown. Four new stations were built along 1.7 miles through SoMa, Union Square, and Chinatown in order to bypass traffic congestion at 4th and Stockton Streets. After opening only for weekend service in November, the Central Subway fully opened for daily service on January 7th, 2023.
Previously, the trains ran only on Saturdays and Sundays between Chinatown/Rose Pak and 4th/Brannan stations, with stops at Yerba Buena and Union Square. But now, trains have added weekday service and a connection to the T Third line. This creates a direct connection from Chinatown to Visitacion Valley, and from the Bayview to Union Square.
The new stations are the following:
- 4th and Brannan Station – 4th and Brannan Streets (street level)
- Yerba Buena/Moscone Station – 4th and Folsom Streets (subway)
- Union Square/Market Street Station – Stockton Street at Union Square (subway)
- Chinatown/Rose Pak Station – Stockton and Washington Streets (subway)
In September, SFMTA welcomed U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, SF Mayor London Breed, and members of the U.S. Department of Transportation for a tour of the new Central Subway.
“Our ride and tour was a thrilling preview of what this project brings to the Bay Area,” wrote Pelosi on Instagram. “With the Central Subway in Chinatown, San Francisco maintains its status as a smart, sustainable, spectacular model for the nation. This will be a deeply needed boon for a community hit hard by the pandemic – and racist conspiracy theories that sadly ensued.”
Most of the project’s funding came from the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts Program and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
Keep up to date with the Central Subway project here.