Category: Story Archive

Stuck on Muni in the Sunset Tunnel

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100 Muni StoriesAbout 30 feet into the the Sunset Tunnel the in-bound N-Judah stopped. People sat quietly, unsurprised. Then someone in the front of the car exclaimed that the train had come apart and we were left behind. It took a few moments for people to process this before starting to exchange glances, mostly of amused disbelief.

Sure enough, the second car had stopped and for some reason been unattached from the first car, which continued out of the tunnel. I was worried about the chance of another train coming up behind us but it is a short tunnel and you can see light at both ends from the middle and I thought, surely the operator in the first car and muni control noticed the problem, as you can see in the photo I took that shows that a second train had started to enter the tunnel behind us and stopped.

A woman in the front car had dialed 911. She asked if anyone had any medical issues or if anyone was having a panic attack – no. Someone would be on their way to help. After five minutes or so, a Muni employee showed up and hopped on. He tried to start the car but explained it was not getting power. This is why it stopped and uncoupled from the
first car.

Everyone filed off the car and walked back to the tunnel opening to be greeted by fire trucks, police, and curious neighbors. A bus was being brought in to pick up passengers. I had plans to meet someone in the Castro. A quick check of the map and I was on my way up Clayton and down 17th. And that was it.

This was Katie’s day on Muni and her entry for the 100 Days, 100 Muni Stories contest. We all know too well how one little thing can derail your carefully scheduled day. Check out other stories competing for 100 Days, 100 Muni Stories, and send us your own Muni story today. Use the Muni Diaries submission form or tweet @munidiaries and include the hashtag #100MuniStories.

Category: 100 Muni Stories, Story Archive, WTF: Weirdness on Muni Tags:

Photo Diary: The Power of an N-Judah’s “Sorry”

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Alice sent in this photo of a very polite N-Judah car.

I am thrilled that the N construction is over. However, the last two days have been ridden with delays. Tuesday, I watched two trains go by my stop and refuse to pick up passengers although there had already been a long delay before they showed up.

Once I finally got on the N, we passed another car and I noticed that it had a message for me. Was it apologizing for failing me today?

This certainly isn’t the first time that a Muni car remembered its manners. It’s never too late to say sorry…or is it?

Category: Funny: Muni LOLs, Photos, Story Archive Tags:

True Love Found on Muni

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Photo by digiyesica

100 Muni StoriesAll kinds of things are found on Muni, including amoré:

@SheenaWakely: I noticed a guy on 31BX. 6 mo. later we met at the stop and have been together ever since. True love on Muni. Imagine that!

We sure can, and do. And, along with @SheenaWakely, we can prove it happens. Jen and Kevin met on the 1-California and had a Muni-themed wedding. A lost wallet sparked romance on the 33-Stanyan, another one of our 100 Days commemorative stories. We’re not only counting romantical love, either; hell yes to the please love back signs, imploring us all to spread you know what (NOT THAT).

Read the rest of our 100 Days, 100 Muni Stories entries, and send us your own Muni story today. Use the Muni Diaries submission form or tweet @munidiaries with hashtag #100MuniStories.

Category: 100 Muni Stories, From MD Editors, Story Archive Tags: ,

Witnessing a Fatality on My First Caltrain Ride

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Sofía was riding Caltrain for the first time, but the ride was far from what she expected. She is the blogger of  the Spanish-language blog, Living La Vida Blogging. Translation by Elena Shore.

People started taking off pieces of clothing, we were all sweating. It had only been about 20 minutes but it was enough time for me to feel claustrophobic. I was already going to be late and now I was going to be even later. I was really upset.

Today was the first time I rode Caltrain from San Francisco to Redwood City. When I saw it reach the station, it looked even better than what I had seen before from a distance.It looked huge, even a little majestic, so I took out my cell phone and took a photo. I’d never realized that Caltrain had different levels; I sat on the second level because I knew that that’s where my son would want to sit. From up above you could see everything and I started to fantasize about taking the train everywhere. I thought when I got home I would tell my son about this exciting public transportation. My route was supposed to be about 30 minutes, which wasn’t enough time to enjoy such a nice trip… but an hour and a half later, I never wanted to ride the train again.

Inside the train they announced to the passengers: “The train has stopped due to a fatality.” In my naïve mind for a moment I thought they meant the engine was ruined and the train was dead. It wasn’t until I saw the paramedics and police arrive that I understood that it was another kind of fatality. I wasn’t upset anymore; now I was in shock.

We weren’t allowed off the train so we all waited for about an hour for them to remove the body and clean everything up. Trying to sit there calmly knowing what had happened, imagining what was going on outside, was almost impossible. Why had he done it? Why had he jumped? Why had he chosen this train, this time and this place? Where did he find the courage to jump and why wasn’t this courage greater than his desire to end his life?

Finally the train started moving very slowly, the authorities wanted to take us at least to the next station since we had stopped in the middle of nowhere. When we arrived, we all got off the train in silence and started to walk, no one said anything and I just thought, “Better late than never.”

Category: Caltrain, Story Archive
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