BART plans billion-dollar upgrades
May 6, 2009
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New look: BART plans to make many changes to its fleet of trains, including adding more doors to each car to improve service.
(Courtesy Photo)
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BART is rolling ahead with a 20-year, $3.4 billion project to replace and redesign its aging fleet of trains.
The transit agency on Thursday will present a sweeping plan to build 700 slick, new train cars it says will accommodate additional passengers, reduce congestion during peak commute hours and speed up service.
One proposal to help maximize space is to attach 72 cushions to poles installed in the middle of train cars for passengers to lean on. Another possible change is the addition of three to five exits per train car rather than the existing two, to allow for more efficient boarding, the transit agency said. The additional exits are intended to cut down the time needed for a train to stop at a station.
There’s also an idea to reduce the seat sizes by 2 inches from the current 22 inches. BART seats are now larger than those offered by major transit systems in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, among others.
The transit agency hopes its Thursday meeting on the plans will incite feedback from riders “as to what they want to see in their railcars,” spokesman Linton Johnson said.
“[It’s] so we design them to meet the changing needs of our ridership, which we project will grow substantially over the next decade,” he said.
The interiors of BART trains have not changed much since the transit agency began service in 1972. Only in recent years did it start swapping out the mucky rugs on some of its trains with a less absorbent plastic composite material. The transit agency is also in the process of replacing aging seat covers.
Replacement efforts have been slowed by the recession, and the forecast for BART’s financial future does not bode well for the ambitious plans.
The transit agency is facing a $6.8 billion deficit in its capital budget during the next 25 years, money it needs to maintain the fleet, along with 104 miles of tracks, according to a recent report released by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
But even in times of financial uncertainty, BART said it needs to plan for the future, according to Johnson.
“By the time the last car is delivered, we will have probably gone through two full economic cycles,” he said.
The transit agency is now in the process of budgeting and planning to ensure it completes the first demo cars by 2014, with the last car finished by 2028, he said. It hopes to have 200 newly designed train cars running by 2017. The cost during that time period would be $1 billion, according to the transit agency.
BART anticipates that the majority of funds will come from federal sources, including $150 million it would receive for connections to high-speed rail. Other ideas are to collect funding from future fare hikes, bridge tolls or regional gas taxes, among others.
maldax@sfexaminer.com
