San Francisco to introduce CBTC across its light rail system

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has announced plans to modernise the train control system for the city’s Muni Metro network. This project will see the service’s current automatic train control system (ATCS) replaced with a modern communications-based train control (CBTC) system to help deliver faster, safer and more reliable services. The new system will be extended to surface lines. 

 

At present, the Muni Metro’s ATCS system controls the Market Street subway. It runs on technology dating back to the 1980s and still makes use of floppy discs. Unsurprisingly, this system is prone to equipment failures that result in delays and unanticipated shutdowns. 

 

This project is now in the planning phase and will be rolled out with a phased approach across the network, with full completion scheduled for 2029. 

 

Muni Metro is the name given to the seven-line 62.6km (38.9-mile) light rail system that started as a tramway in 1912 and was upgraded to light rail in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the 8.9km (5.5-mile) Market Street subway opening in February 1980. 

 

The system has continued to expand with the Central Subway opening in November 2022. Siemens is delivering 249 S200 LRVs to replace the existing fleet of Breda cars from 1995-1999 by 2027.