The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which manages all transportation in the city, including the Municipal Railway (Muni), will unlock the back door and resume two-car train service on its new LRV4 trains.
All single panel train doors, which are located at the ends of each car, have been retrofitted with additional sensors. In addition, the train couplers, which allow for the connection of two trains, have been modified to allow safe operation of two-car train service.
“We are pleased to once again provide two-car trains and to reopen the back door on our new trains,” said SFMTA Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum. “We appreciate the patience of our customers as we worked through these issues, as we remain committed to rolling out these new trains that will have a significant positive impact on service across the city.”
Between November 2017 and April 2019, there were three incidents that involved the rear-door that resulted in a passenger injury. The most recent incident was on April 12, 2019, when a passenger tried to hold open the rear door and fell into the trackway at Embarcadero Station. Siemens, the train manufacturer, developed an updated door design that provides two additional sensitive edges, including one on the exterior side of the single panel door. This provides increased sensitivity to account for a broader range of obstructions with the doors.
