Why is BART only running 6 car trains?

BART plans to launch the Fleet of the Future trains using eight-car and six-car trains but will adjust as ridership grows. Running trains with fewer cars will allow the BART Police Department (PD) to increase its visibility on trains and platforms while using the same number of staff.



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Operating shorter trains means the agency will be able to run full service with only its new cars. Unlike the old trains that have been in service since 1972, BART's newer “Fleet of the Future” trains have fewer seats that can't be vandalized.

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BART will realize cost savings and efficiency gains through this change. BART is expected to save about $12 million annually through reduced power consumption and cars logging fewer operating hours.

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In celebration of BART's upcoming 50th anniversary on September 11, BART is offering a 50% discount for the entire month of September 2022. The reduced fare will be automatically deducted when using Clipper at the fare gates.

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At the recycle facility, a huge machine crushes the car and breaks it into chunks. Workers put the big chunks through a series of steps that sort out the different types of metal materials – mostly steel, aluminum and copper – and run them through a mega-shredder that can pulverize them into tinier pieces.

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In the promotional video, the AI tool is asked “What new discoveries from the James Webb Space Telescope [JWST] can I tell my 9 year old about?” In its response, Bard answers that JWST took the “very first pictures” of an exoplanet outside our solar system.

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Q: Why doesn't BART run 24/7 or at least later on Friday and Saturday nights? A: The short window of time when BART isn't in operation is used for essential nightly track maintenance to help keep BART safe and reliable.

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Like most trains, BART wheels are tied together with rigid axels and no differentials. This means the wheels always rotate at the same speed, even around corners. Because the inner radius is smaller, there is less distance to travel, which can cause a slippage between the wheels and track, which is noisy.

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The size of BART's fleet will be dynamic while new trains are put into service and old trains are retired. BART has 8 DMU train cars which each have a seating capacity of 104. 70 mph maximum; 35 mph average, including 20-second station stops. For BART to Antioch DMU trains, the maximum speed is 75 mph; 60 mph average.

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A full consist, which will fill the system's platforms, is ten units, equaling 700 feet (213 m). BART trains are unique among American rapid transit systems as they have proper gangway connections and passengers are permitted to walk between cars, not unlike an open gangway system.

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Seating capacity is 56, but can carry over 200 customers in a crush load. The number and kinds of cars that constitute a train varies, but an A2 or C1 or C2 car must be at each end of the train to provide the necessary automatic control equipment. The smallest BART trains are three cars long, while the longest are ten.

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Factoring in these new state budget funds, assuming MTC commissioners adopt the staff recommendation in mid-November 2023, BART must now solve a $326M deficit before FY28. It was previously $678M. BART would then face and annual operating deficit of $264M starting in FY28.

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Safety is BART's top priority. To help keep passengers and our employees safe, BART has more than 4,000 working cameras throughout our system and we are working very hard to increase both sworn officers and ambassador presence.

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