Muni recently ran secret late-night tests to determine whether its fleet of historic streetcars will be able to run on the N Line, according to a report by the Market Street Railway Blog.
The cars have been banned from the line for over a decade, after one of the wider cars hit a wheelchair boarding ramp at Judah and Ninth Ave. This was apparently due to the ramp being design incorrectly, as Market Street Railway notes that "[e]xcept for the Market Street subway, the J, K, L, M, N, and T lines are supposed to be operable by Muni's entire streetcar fleet, including the vintage cars." Muni successfully ran two of its narrower cars along the N Line during the overnight test -- one from Washington D.C. and one from Birmingham: With the test's success, it's now up to Muni to decide whether to officially authorize the return of the historic streetcars -- at least the skinny ones -- to the N Line. We'll keep you posted.
The cars have been banned from the line for over a decade, after one of the wider cars hit a wheelchair boarding ramp at Judah and Ninth Ave. This was apparently due to the ramp being design incorrectly, as Market Street Railway notes that "[e]xcept for the Market Street subway, the J, K, L, M, N, and T lines are supposed to be operable by Muni's entire streetcar fleet, including the vintage cars." Muni successfully ran two of its narrower cars along the N Line during the overnight test -- one from Washington D.C. and one from Birmingham: With the test's success, it's now up to Muni to decide whether to officially authorize the return of the historic streetcars -- at least the skinny ones -- to the N Line. We'll keep you posted.
