[IMAGE]SF.jpg[/IMAGE]On Monday, Mayor Gavin Newsom joined the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees the Municipal Railway (Muni), for the launch of Muni's newest cable car, Car 15. The newly-constructed car completed its certification run earlier this month and was declared ready for residents and visitors.

"San Francisco's iconic cable cars are cherished throughout the world and bring many people back year after year to visit our city," said Mayor Newsom. "Those San Franciscans lucky enough to live or work near the cable car lines have arguably the best commute in the world."

Cable Car 15, which will serve the Powell-Mason Line, was built from the ground up using original blueprints by SFMTA artisans from the Woods Carpenter Shop, the Cable Machinery Support Shop, the Special Machine Shop and the Running Repair Shop.

Car features a bright yellow Powell-Mason color scheme that originated in the 1890s. This paint scheme was worn by cable cars on the Powell-Mason line from 1894 to 1902. The Powell-Mason cable car line, which opened in 1888, is the oldest transit line in America still operating on its original route with its original type of motive power and its original type of vehicles.

The new cable car took four years to complete and cost $823,000 for materials and labor. The SFMTA Cable Car Rehabilitation program refurbishes and rebuilds San Francisco's cable cars and is funded from local, regional and federal capital sources that cannot be used for Muni operations.