Transit and Track Maps

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Transportation and urban planning in the San Francisco Bay Area

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This page is a repository of transit and track maps. The older maps filed under “Archives” below would ideally be updated, and perhaps one day will be, but these days, rendering historical transit systems is my jam.

Recent Entries (2019-2021)

Southern Pacific East Bay Lines (1923-1932)
Link to Map Page

This map depicts the network of electric rail lines operated by Southern Pacific in Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley, during the period from 1923 to 1932, before the Bay Bridge railway opened in 1939. The map includes two insets and written historical notes about this now-vanished rail system that was formed from railroads that had been constructed in the East Bay starting in the 1860s. (Map drawn in 2021.)

New York City Rapid Transit (1938)
Link to Map Page

This map depicts New York City’s subway and elevated rapid transit services in Spring 1938, as best I have been able to piece together that information to date. This year was chosen because at that point in time, the network was arguably at its most complex — the collection of elevated lines built in Manhattan and Brooklyn in the late 19th century was still mostly intact, and at the same time, most of today’s subway system (with a few notable exceptions) had already been constructed or was then under construction. (Map drawn in 2019.)

Archives (2008-2014)

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Track Map
Link to Map (2500 x 2747 PNG file)

BART is the Bay Area’s primary heavy rail system serving San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo Counties. BART tracks are broad gauge and grade-separated, and this map includes only BART tracks. Tracks are color-coded according to whether alignments are elevated, at-grade, or subway. An under-construction infill station at West Dublin/Pleasanton has been marked on the map. A future version of the map would include post-2008 system extensions and proposals. (Map drawn in 2008.)

mt-view-crop South Bay Regional Track Map
Link to Map (4998 x 5825 PNG file)

The South Bay/Santa Clara County map includes track for commuter rail (Caltrain, Altamont Commuter Express, and Amtrak/Capitol Corridor), the light rail system operated by the Valley Transportation Authority, and also select freight track. The map also marks in light gray certain proposed and planned (as of 2009) extensions: in particular, light rail extensions and BART to Silicon Valley. (Map drawn in 2009.)

San Francisco Rapid Network
Link to Map (1382 x 1558 PNG file)

This map depicts the bus, light rail, and streetcar routes that are collectively designated as San Francisco Muni’s “rapid network.” These are the most popular and frequent routes — together accounting for 75 percent of Muni ridership — and are slated for future improvements under SFMTA’s Transit Effectiveness Project. For completeness, the map also includes BART, Caltrain, and the Central Subway project now under construction. (Map drawn in 2011.)

Rockaway Beach Branch (Queens, New York) (2014)
Link to Maps

This pair of maps depicts two alternatives for reactivating the Long Island Rail Road’s (LIRR) Rockaway Beach Branch in Queens for passenger rail service. The first map is a service schematic that depicts the branch integrated into the subway system via a new tunnel connection to the IND Queens Boulevard subway line. The second map is a track diagram that restores LIRR commuter rail along the corridor to a new terminal station at Aqueduct, where a transfer to the A train would be available. (Maps drawn in 2014.)