T Third Trains Replaced by Buses in the Bayview Over the Next Two Weekends
Muni’s T Third light rail line will be partially replaced by buses over the next two weekends, July 18 to 19 and July 25 to 26, 2026, while crews repair the oldest sections of the line through the Bayview and Visitacion Valley. The SFMTA announced the work, which it calls T Third Fix-It! Weekends, in its July 15 advisory.
What Changes and When
On Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19, trains stop running between Sunnydale and 3rd and Marin streets. Buses cover that segment, and trains continue between 3rd and Marin and the Chinatown – Rose Pak Station, with a transfer between the two at 3rd and Marin. On July 25 and 26, the bus segment shortens: buses run between Sunnydale and 3rd and Williams Avenue, with trains covering the rest of the line and the transfer at 3rd and Williams.
An SFMTA spokesperson told Mission Local that 60-foot buses will stop at the same stations and run at the same frequency as the trains. Bus service operates all day both days each weekend, and Owl overnight service is unchanged.
Why the Work Is Happening
Crews will repair tracks, overhead wires, lighting, and signage, and clean stations along the southeastern portion of the line, which opened in 2007. Mission Local reports these are the first fixes of their kind since the line was installed, and Supervisor Shamann Walton called the work long overdue. The SFMTA says a separate effort, adjusting the city’s transit signal priority technology, has already cut about seven minutes from the line’s travel time.
If You Are Headed to the World Cup Final
The shutdown overlaps with the FIFA World Cup final on Sunday, July 19, when the official watch party runs at Thrive City outside Chase Center. From Chinatown or downtown, T trains run to Chase Center as usual, no transfer needed. From the Bayview or Visitacion Valley, take the replacement bus and transfer to a train at 3rd and Marin. Details on the city’s watch sites are in our World Cup fan zone guide.
Muni is not the only system changing this summer: BART shifts its entire schedule on August 10, with longer trains phasing in from July 20. Our BART schedule change explainer has those details.
Photo: 9yz, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
