San Francisco 4th and King Street station
| Company type | Commuter rail and light rail station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 1975-06-21 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
| Products | Caltrain commuter rail service, Muni Metro light rail service |
San Francisco 4th and King Street station—previously known as 4th & Townsend and often referred to as the Caltrain Depot—is a prominent rail hub situated in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood. It functions as the northern endpoint of the Caltrain commuter rail service, linking the San Francisco Peninsula with the Santa Clara Valley. Additionally, this station serves as the eastern terminus for Muni’s N Judah and E Embarcadero lines (currently suspended), and is a stop along the T Third Street route. Looking ahead, it is designated as the terminus for Phase 1 of the California High-Speed Rail initiative and will maintain its importance following Phase 2.
History
Positioned within the Mission Bay and China Basin districts, the station is bounded by Townsend Street to the north, 4th Street on the east side, and King Street to the south. All 13 rail tracks arriving from the west conclude at this location, just before reaching 4th Street. The facility began operations on June 21, 1975, replacing an earlier station that had been in use since 1914 at 3rd and Townsend, which lies one block further east.
The station is located a single block away from Oracle Park, home stadium of the San Francisco Giants Major League Baseball team. On game days, Caltrain runs additional services to accommodate attendees traveling to and from the ballpark.
Muni’s light-rail extension reaching this station was inaugurated in 1998.
Future
The Portal project—formerly known as the Downtown Rail Extension—plans to construct an underground station adjacent to the current site on Townsend Street as part of the revamped Salesforce Transit Center. Until this new underground facility is completed, Caltrain will continue operations using its existing surface-level platforms.
California High-Speed Rail trains are expected to utilize the current station with certain upgrades until The Portal’s underground station becomes operational.
Following completion of The Portal project, High-Speed Rail services will extend to the new Transbay Terminal; however, most trains will primarily stop at the underground 4th and Townsend station as a secondary San Francisco location.
Dreamstar Lines intends to introduce an overnight passenger train service between 4th and King and Los Angeles-Union Station starting in 2025.
Muni service
4th and King is a stop for several Muni bus routes, the E Embarcadero historic streetcar line, and the Muni Metro N Judah light rail that travels to downtown Market Street. The Metro’s T Third Street line connects to Chinatown through Muni's Central Subway.
The platform for the N Judah line is situated on the median of King Street, southwest of the 4th and King intersection, whereas the T Third Street platform is located on 4th Street, southeast of the same junction. The nearest BART station is Powell Street station, which is approximately a mile away on foot or reachable by a nine-minute ride on the T line plus a five-minute walk from Union Square/Market Street station.
The station is served by Muni bus routes , , , , and , along with express lines , , and that offer peak-hour connections to business areas near Market Street. Furthermore, routes , , , and operate during early morning and late-night hours when rail services are not running.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Caltrain stations in San Francisco
- Muni Metro stations
- South of Market, San Francisco
- Railway stations in the United States opened in 1975
- San Francisco Municipal Railway streetcar stations
- 1975 establishments in California
- Proposed California High-Speed Rail stations
- Former Southern Pacific Railroad stations in California