New BART Train Cars in Service

The first ten train cars of BART’s Fleet of the Future are now rolling in off-peak hours on the Richmond line. In the months ahead, the new train’s schedule will include rush hour and other BART routes, as new cars are produced and pass inspection from the California Public Utilities Commission. 775 new cars will cost $2.6 billion. MTC contributed most of that amount, $1.76 billion. Santa Clara County’s VTA contributed $200 million. The California High Speed Rail project added another $140 million for the cars, which will be seen as the BART system moves towards downtown San Jose. The Federal Transit Administration is also helping, and the final plan is to have 1,081 new cars which will provide a 49% increase in seating over the current fleet. Our Mark Jones was at the MacArthur BART station as the new train went into service.