A Final Ride on MUNI Breda Fleets- 30 Years of Service

In 1996, MUNI began the release of the Breda fleets, with the first train entering service during that year and in 2003, all 151 Breda Trains became fully in service. The Bredas initially replaced all the Boeing trains that were constructed between 1995 and 2003. The Bredas have played a huge role in expanding services in newer areas and were also the first trains to run on the T line, which today is replaced by the Siemens and goes to Chinatown and as well as along the UCSF areas including Chase Center. Although there were some highs and lows of riding these fleets, I will truly miss seeing these run on a daily basis on all of the lines from time to time.

I have been riding on these fleets ever since I was little and I remember first riding these when I was on field trips, particularly going to San Francisco Zoo. Although, I never really took the time to really ride these during my leisure time and only during field trips and such, these bring back a lot of my childhood memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I remember always seeing these pass-by stations from Embarcadero to Civic Center and hearing their motors sound a bit like BART’s legacy fleet, but not exactly. I never realized that SF had another metro system apart from BART until I first saw these running as I went up the escalators lmao. I’d say some of the most memorable things about these trains are the good ol’ pull cord for stop requests, the clear announcements, the seats (even though there wasn’t cushion), the good ventilation, the doors opening and closing quicker than the Siemens, and the classic trolley bell that the driver rings when arriving and leaving stations/stops. All of those are what made the Bredas so sentimental and memorable for many Transit enthusiasts including myself for many years and will be carried into the future even if these are now officially retired. Of course, the Siemen fleets don’t compare to the Breda fleets, as there are some things that I don’t necessarily like about the Siemens, particularly the slow doors and the below average ventilation. Even though I've essentially gotten used to the Siemens, the retirement of the Bredas is one that will take time for me to adjust to as it feels like a part of my childhood has been erased because of their recent retirement. Anyways, this is goodbye to the Bredas and thank you for 30 years of service for San Francisco when they first released the fleets for public use. It is quite heartbreaking to see an essential part of my childhood being erased, but unfortunately nothing can really last forever.

In this video on November 12, 2025, MUNI does their farewell event where the Breda will run on the J Church Line going all the way to Balboa Park and making another trip back to Embarcadero Station from 11:45am to 9pm. Obviously I didn’t stay all the way to 9pm lmao, but I still took as much time to appreciate these fleets and enjoy the ride for the very last time. Also in this video, you can see some people bringing in a GameCube to play during the ride lmao. The very last car that I rode was vehicle #1534 1999 Breda LRV3. The video also cut short on the way back to Embarcadero because I ran out of storage on my phone lmao. I believe these will be sent to the Western Railway Museum, so at least these trains are still being valued and not just being scrapped.

Filmed- 11/12/25
Camera- iPhone 16 Pro

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