The Portal, also known as the Downtown Rail Extension project, will extend Caltrain service from Fourth and King Streets and deliver the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s future high-speed rail service to the multimodal Salesforce Transit Center, in the heart of downtown San Francisco. It is a transformational, once-in-a-generation investment that will ultimately connect 11 transit systems from the Bay Area and Southern California.
Announcement:
During September Transit Month, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority and California High-Speed Rail Authority unveiled an interactive public art piece at the Salesforce Transit Center that provides a 3D representation of The Portal project, which will bring high-speed rail service to the multimodal Transit Center. Visit here to see the unveiling video.
Delivering the portal
A Key Regional Rail Connection
The Portal will be constructed principally below grade using cut-and-cover and mined tunneling methods underneath Townsend and Second Streets. The project will fit out the Center's basement levels into a new train station and build a new underground station at Fourth and Townsend Streets. Major elements include structures for emergency exit and ventilation along the tunnel alignment, mainline trackwork through the tunnel and stations as well as at-grade trackwork tying into Caltrain's existing trackwork, rail systems, and site work within Caltrain's railyards at Fourth and King Streets. The total planned construction length of the Portal is approximately 2.2 miles.
A NEW UNDERGROUND STATION
Fourth and Townsend Street Station
The new underground station at Fourth and Townsend Streets will serve Caltrain commuters. The station's street level entrances and exits along Townsend Street will lead to a concourse one level below ground and a train platform two levels below ground. The concourse level will accommodate passenger amenities such as ticketing; maps and schedule information; and restrooms. It will also house mechanical and electrical rooms and staff areas. The platform level will feature two tracks, a center platform and two side platforms.
FIT OUT OF ALREADY BUILT TWO-LEVEL TRAINBOX
Salesforce Transit Center Station
Fit-out of the two-level below-grade rail station at the Center will include facilities for rail operations, customer service, and ancillary support. A lower concourse, one level below ground, will house ticketing, passenger waiting, and support spaces for Caltrain and the California High Speed Rail Authority--the primary tenants--as well as leasable retail space. On the platform level, two levels below ground, six tracks and three center platforms will serve commuter and high-speed trains. Back-of-house spaces to support rail service are also planned on the platform level.
Regional Collaboration
The TJPA is leading the delivery of The Portal in cooperation with five other agencies through the San Francisco Peninsula Rail Program
Memorandum of Understanding, a regional collaboration model to formally deliver the project.
THE PORTAL RAIL OPERATORS
Caltrain already serves as a vital regional link by connecting San Francisco to the Peninsula, Silicon Valley, and San Jose, but it currently ends 1.3 miles from downtown San Francisco. The Portal will extend the Caltrain rail line into the new Transit Center, the heart of San Francisco’s new downtown. Extending Caltrain into downtown will directly save commuters almost an hour a day in travel time, and will result in less driving and more people taking the train into the City from the Peninsula.
The Portal will accommodate California’s High-Speed Rail service, which will connect the mega-regions of the state, and contribute to economic development and a cleaner environment. The California High-Speed Rail Authority estimates that the system will run from the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in under three hours.