The original BART cars may have seemed futuristic when they first began service over 40 years ago, but (as any commuter can tell you) they are rapidly nearing the end of their lives. Thankfully, BART's aging fleet is about about to be replaced with shiny new cars that will be quieter, cooler and more comfortable.
The new cars were originally scheduled to start carrying passengers by the end of 2016, but testing and bug fixes caused a year-long delay. Luckily, the new cars finally passed safety tests over the weekend, and are on track (pun intended) to start transporting people by Thanksgiving.
Unfortunately, your chances of actually riding one of the new railcars this November are pretty slim; only 10 of the new “Fleet of the Future” cars will be rolled out at first, and BART’s plan is to run them as a single 10-car train during commuting hours and two five-car trains during off-peak hours. An additional 10 cars will be added by the end of the year and 16 new cars will be built and shipped every month after that, so that 70 new cars will be on the tracks by next summer. An additional 150 new cars will be put into the system each year, until the entire legacy fleet of 669 is completely replaced by the 775 new cars in 2022.
It will definitely be worth the wait though. The new cars are even more environmentally friendly than the existing ones—which is pretty impressive considering the current ones are among the nation’s best in that area. They will also be quieter thanks to new wheel technology that quiets screeching rails, and micro-plug doors that seals out noise. The new cars also feature cooling systems that distribute air directly from the ceilings, padded seats with lumbar support that are covered in a wipeable fabric, interior digital and LED screens to replay passenger information, bike racks in every car and a third door in the middle of the car, which will come in useful as ridership grows.
The cost of the new trains is $1.5 billion, with the entire effort coming in at roughly $2.6 billion, and though anyone who rides BART will be much happier with the new, quieter, cooler, and cleaner (at least in the beginning) cars, it might take people a while to get used to the aggressively bright neon green and blue seats.