This may be a website primarily dedicated to trams and light rail in the British Isles but we also keep a keen eye on some of the bigger developments across the world. And at the moment, there probably isn\u2019t a more significant development than an apparent threat to San Francisco\u2019s historic F-line streetcar service.<\/p>\n
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Often seen as one of the \u201cposter children\u201d of heritage tram\/trolley operations across the world, the F-line first ran using historic trolleys in 1983 during the first San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival and became a year round operation in 1995. It now runs between Embarcadero and Fisherman\u2019s Wharf using a fleet of historic trolley from across the world including a large fleet of PCCs from around the USA as well as others including, of most interest to many visitors of this website, three Blackpool Boat Cars.<\/p>\n
Seemingly an integral part of the public transport network in San Francisco, the F-line is now under threat with budget constraints on the horizon. In a recent newsletter from Market Street Railway it was revealed that operator of the complete public transport network in the city, Muni have been informed by SFMTA (the parent company of Muni) that hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue is required by\u00a0 2026 to avoid massive cuts to services (and that wouldn\u2019t just impact the heritage line).<\/p>\n
Listing possible scenarios to achieve this, the report included the suggestion that all vintage rail services would be suspended. That would be both the F-line as well as the iconic Cable Car line. The positive for the Cable Cars is that they are protected under the San Francisco City Charter which means it would need a public vote to discontinue them. The Mayor-elect, Daniel Lurie, has also pledged his support for the Cable Cars.<\/p>\n
There is, however, no such clause for the F-line and so it could be considered as an easy win when looking at cutting costs for Muni.<\/p>\n
Market Street Railway are now formulating a plan to defend the future of the F-line and are urging all enthusiasts across the world to help support them in what they describe as the \u201cbiggest-ever threat to City\u2019s vintage streetcars\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This may be a website primarily dedicated to trams and light rail in the British Isles but we also keep a keen eye on some of the bigger developments across the world. And at the moment, there probably isn\u2019t a … Continue reading