J Church

The J Church begins service at 5 a.m. weekdays, 6 a.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. Sundays and continues until 12:15 a.m. every night. Daytime headways are between 6 and 9 minutes.[4]

Unlike the other Muni Metro lines, there is not a corresponding overnight Owl bus during the hours that rail service is not running.

An outbound J Church car turns from 30th Street onto San Jose Avenue in 1993, two months after the start of all-day service on the extension south of 30th.

The outer end of the line was originally at Church and 30th Streets, where streetcars used a wye to turn around. Studies to extend the line from its southern terminus had been made in the 1920s[5] and 1970's.[10] In 1990–91, the tracks were extended to the Balboa Park BART station and the Metro Center (Muni light-rail maintenance and operations base), giving J-line cars a much shorter connection to the yard than previously. The extension opened on August 31, 1991, but the 2.3-mile (3.7 km) new section was initially used only by light rail cars starting or ending their runs;[11] all-day J-line service was not extended along the new tracks until June 19, 1993.[12][13]

This trackage was laid along the Bernal Cut, the former right-of-way of the San Francisco & San Jose Railroad.[5]

This extension of the J-line to the Metro Center now also provides vintage F Market cars a connection to the adjacent Cameron Beach Yard, where they are stored when not in service. Occasionally J-Church streetcars use the siding at 30th and Church as a terminus during rush hours, or during irregular operations.

The 19th Avenue Platform & Trackway Improvement Project originally included pocket tracks to allow J Church trains to continue past Balboa Park with service to Stonestown. Due to community backlash, the compromise plan did not include the facilities necessary to run joint J-M service.[7]

An outbound train crossing over near the Duboce terminal in December 2020

The line was temporarily through-routed with the surface section of the K Ingleside line from June 25 to August 24, 2018 due to the Twin Peaks Tunnel shutdown.[14]

On March 30, 2020, Muni Metro service was replaced with buses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] Rail service returned on August 22, 2020, with the routes reconfigured to improve reliability in the subway. J Church service ran only on the surface.[4] The J temporarily terminated at the inbound platform on Church Street at Market Street, providing an accessible transfer between the J and subway trains.[16] A mini-high platform was to be constructed on the inbound platform at Church and Duboce, and an outbound mini-high platform will be built on Church Street south of Market Street, which was to allow the J to be re-extended slightly to Duboce Street (with additional transfer to the N Judah) in October 2020.[16] The forced transfer at Church station - which required J Church riders to cross two streets and use two elevators to transfer - was criticized by disability advocates.[17]

Rail service was re-replaced with buses on August 25 due to issues with malfunctioning overhead wire splices and the need to quarantine control center staff after a COVID-19 case.[18] J Church service on the surface-only Balboa Park–Church and Duboce routing resumed on December 19, 2020.[19]

In March 2014, Muni released details of the proposed implementation of their Transit Effectiveness Project (later rebranded MuniForward), which included a variety of changes for the J Church line intended to improve reliability and decrease travel times. The proposed changes included the removal of two stops (Liberty and Church and 30th Street), minor relocations of several other stops, construction of boarding islands and transit bulbs, and transit-only lanes on three blocks of Church Street, plus an increase in frequency from 9.5-minute headways to 8-minute headways during the morning peak.[20]

Most of the changes will be included in the proposed J Church Rapid Project. However, one element – dedicated transit/taxi lanes and left turn restrictions on Church Street between Duboce Avenue and 16th Street – was chosen for implementation as a pilot project to test its effectiveness. The red-painted dedicated center lanes (for use also by the 22-Fillmore bus) and turn restrictions were added in March 2013. The project proved to reduce travel time and improve reliability on both rail and bus, while not significantly increasing travel time in private automobiles.[21] Based on these positive results, the SFMTA Board made the changes permanent in June 2015.[22]

In November 2019, the SFMTA announced the J Church Improvement Project, which will make preliminary changes to the line while funding is sought for the full Rapid project. Church and 30th Street stop will be closed, safety modifications made to several stops, signage added to all stops, and a traffic light added at Cesar Chavez Street. A pilot program was to use a surface turnback on The Embarcadero in an effort to reduce terminal delays at Embarcadero station.[23]

With the completion of the proposed but unfunded M Ocean View subway, the J Church would be re-routed to connect with the M Ocean View at a new four-track subway station at SF State. The J line would enter a new portal on 19th Avenue near Monticello Street with a subway tunnel following approximately the current M line alignment between Monticello Street and Holloway Avenue along 19th Avenue.[24][25]