San Francisco 4th and King Street station

This article is about a Caltrain and Muni station in San Francisco, California. For other uses, see San Francisco station (disambiguation).

San Francisco 4th and King Street station (previously 4th & Townsend), also known as the Caltrain Depot, is a train station in the SoMa district of San Francisco, California. It is presently the northern terminus of the Caltrain commuter rail line serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley. It is also the eastern terminus of the N Judah and E Embarcadero,^{[lower-alpha 1]} as well as a stop along the T Third Street of the Muni network. The station is additionally the projected terminus for the first phase of the California High-Speed Rail project and a station once Phase 2 is completed.

San Francisco
4th and King station in December 2022
General information
Location	700 Fourth Street at King Street San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°46′35″N 122°23′40″W
Owned by	Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (PCJPB)
Line(s)	PCJPB Peninsula Subdivision[1]
Platforms	6 island platforms (Caltrain) 2 island platforms, 2 side platforms (Muni)[2]
Tracks	13 (Caltrain) 4 (Muni)[2]
Connections	Flixbus Muni: 10, 30, 31, 45, 47, 81X, 82X, 83X
Construction
Parking	Paid parking nearby
Bicycle facilities	Parking station, Bay Wheels station[3]
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1 (Caltrain)
History
Opened	1975 (Caltrain), 1998 (Muni)
Passengers
2018	15,427 (weekday avg.)[4]  1.5% (Caltrain)
Services Preceding station Caltrain Following station Terminus Local 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon or Tamien Limited 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon Express Weekend Local 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon or Tamien Preceding station Muni Following station 2nd and King towards Ocean Beach N Judah Terminus 4th and Brannan towards Chinatown T Third Street Mission Rock towards Sunnydale 2nd and King towards Jones and Beach E Embarcadero Suspended Terminus
Former services Preceding station Caltrain Following station Terminus Local (L1) 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon or Tamien Weekend Local (L2) Limited (L3) Millbrae toward San Jose Diridon, Tamien or Gilroy Limited (L4) 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon, Tamien or Gilroy Limited (L5) 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon or Tamien Baby Bullet (B7) Millbrae toward San Jose Diridon 22nd Street (reverse peak) toward San Jose Diridon Preceding station Southern Pacific Railroad Following station Terminus Peninsula Commute From 1975 23rd Street toward San Jose
Proposed service Preceding station Caltrain Following station Salesforce Transit Center (opening 2032) Terminus Local 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon or Tamien Limited 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon Express Weekend Local 22nd Street toward San Jose Diridon or Tamien Preceding station California High-Speed Rail Following station Terminus Phase I (2031 Service) Millbrae towards Bakersfield San Francisco Terminus Phase I Full-Build Service Millbrae towards Anaheim or Merced
Track layout v t e Legend to Central Subway Caltrain 4th Street I-280 King Street
Location

History

Southern Pacific's 3rd and Townsend terminal was replaced in 1975 by the current station.

The station is in the Mission Bay/China Basin area, bordered on the north by Townsend Street, east by 4th Street, and south by King Street. All 13 tracks approaching from the west presently terminate here, just short of 4th Street. The facility opened on June 21, 1975, replacing a station built in 1914 at 3rd and Townsend, one block away to the east.

4th & King is one block from Oracle Park, the home ballpark of the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Caltrain runs extra trains on game days to shuttle fans to and from the ballpark.

The Muni light-rail extension to the station was opened in 1998.^[5]

Future

The Portal project (formerly the Downtown Rail Extension) to the rebuilt Salesforce Transit Center includes the construction of an underground 4th and King station. The underground portion will be adjacent to the current station on the Townsend Street side,^[6] but Caltrain will continue using the surface platforms.^[7] Until that time, California High-Speed Rail trains are planned to utilize the existing station with modifications for that service.^[7][8][9]

Following the opening of the Portal project, California High-Speed Rail service will be extended to the new Transbay Terminal, though most trains are intended to stop at the underground 4th and Townsend as an additional, secondary stop for San Francisco.^{[10][page needed]}

Dreamstar Lines intends to launch an overnight passenger train service from 4th and King Street Station to Los Angeles-Union Station in 2025.^[11][12]

Muni service

N Judah trains at 4th and King

4th and King hosts a number of Muni bus lines, the E Embarcadero historic streetcar line, the Muni Metro N Judah light rail line runs to Market St downtown, and the Metro’s T Third Street service runs to Chinatown via Muni's Central Subway.^[13]

The N Judah station platform is located on the median of King Street immediately southwest of the 4th and King intersection, while the T Third Street station platform is located on the median of 4th Street immediately southeast of the intersection.^[2] The nearest BART access is the Powell Street station, a 1-mile (1.6 km) walk up 4th Street then left on Market Street, or a nine minute T ride and a five minute walk from Union Square/Market Street station.

The station is also served by Muni bus routes 10, 30, 31, 45, and 47, along with special express routes 81X, 82X and 83X which provide service to or from business areas near Market Street during peak periods. Additionally, the N Bus, N Owl, T Bus and 91 Owl bus routes provide service along the N Judah and T Third Street lines during the early morning and late night hours when trains do not operate.^[14]

Notes

1. The E Embarcadero is presently suspended.

References

1. SMA Rail Consulting (April 2016). "California Passenger Rail Network Schematics" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. p. 13.
2. San Francisco Municipal Railway Route Map (Map). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. December 5, 2009. Archived from the original on February 23, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
3. "Bike Share Map: San Francisco" (Map). Bike Share Map. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
4. "2018 Annual Count Key Findings Report" (PDF). Caltrain. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
5. Epstein, Edward (August 26, 1998). "Brown Tries To Soothe Muni Riders / Service on N-Judah line has been abysmal all week". Hearst Communications. SFGate. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
6. Caltrain 2025 North Terminal Plan^{[permanent dead link]}
7. "San Francisco to San Jose Project Section Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement Volume 1 Chapter 2" (PDF). CHSRA. July 2020. pp. 2–5. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
8. "Caltrain/California HSR Blended Operations Analysis" (PDF). Caltrain.com. LTK Engineering Services. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
9. Thadani, Trisha (July 10, 2020). "Plan for high-speed rail rolls out for San Francisco to San Jose – but with little cash". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
10. "2020 Business Plan Service Planning Methodology" (PDF). California High-Speed Rail Authority. June 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
11. Johnston, Bob (March 25, 2024). "Plans for private San Francisco-Los Angeles overnight sleeping car service revived". Trains. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
12. Rahmanan, Anna (April 9, 2024). "A luxe overnight train from L.A. to San Francisco may soon become a reality". Time Out. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
13. "Project Overview [Central Subway]". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Archived from the original on December 12, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
14. "Muni Service Map". SFMTA. July 9, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2022.

External links

Media related to San Francisco 4th and King Street station at Wikimedia Commons

• Caltrain – San Francisco station