San Francisco’s Muni subway slowed to a crawl this afternoon after controllers ordered a safety check between Church Street and Van Ness Avenue following a report of an intruder in the tunnel. Inbound and outbound trains were told to run at reduced speed while crews swept the right-of-way, and commuters were urged to budget extra travel time as delays rippled through the Market Street subway.
SFMTA posts alert
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency took to X to warn riders that controllers were conducting a safety check between Church and Van Ness and that inbound and outbound subway service would be slow-moving. The advisory, posted at 1:26 PM, said the agency would update riders once controllers completed their sweep of the tunnel.
Until that clearance comes through, the instructions are simple but frustrating for riders stuck on platforms or in stalled trains: expect slower trips and possible crowding as the system creeps along for safety.
Why trains slow after tunnel reports
When there is a report of someone on or near the trackway, controllers typically respond with cautious, slow-speed sweeps that can tie up the entire downtown subway. Similar checks have snarled service before, including an incident earlier this year when trains crawled between Castro and Civic Center in February, and a 2025 episode involving a SFist-reported person on the tracks that triggered a similar safety sweep.
It is a conservative approach that tends to irritate riders in the moment but is intended to prevent a much worse headline.
How riders can respond
Anyone heading through the downtown subway is being urged to check real-time feeds or SFMTA alerts before descending the stairs and to consider BART or surface buses if trains are still moving at a crawl. Per SFMTA post-incident summaries, the agency typically publishes detailed accounts after major delays and may deploy bus shuttles or turn trains back to keep people moving when things really bog down…