eBART (East Contra Costa County BART extension) is the project name for a

hybrid rail Light rail in the United States is a mode of rail-based transport, usually urban in nature. When compared to heavy rail systems like commuter rail or rapid transit (subway), light rail systems are typically designed to carry fewer passengers and ...

(light rail with some features similar to commuter rail) branch line of the

Bay Area Rapid Transit Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. BART serves 50 stations along six routes on of rapid transit lines, including a spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which uses ...

(BART) system in eastern

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

, California, United States. Service starts at

Pittsburg/Bay Point station Pittsburg/Bay Point station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Pittsburg, California, United States, adjacent to the community of Bay Point. It serves northern and eastern Contra Costa County, as well as the Sacramento–San Joaquin River ...

and extends to Antioch station. eBART tracks and trains are incompatible with those of the main BART

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...

system, making it impossible for trains to move between the two systems; instead, passengers transfer via a cross platform interchange at an auxiliary BART stop at Pittsburg/Bay Pointthe eBART platform is accessible only via an intra-station ride from the main station to this auxiliary stop. The extension proceeds east along the

State Route 4 Route 4, or Highway 4, may refer to several highways in the following countries: International * AH4, Asian Highway 4 * European route E04 * European route E004 * Cairo – Cape Town Highway Albania * SH-4 road in Albania from Durres to Kakav ...

median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...

to the city of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

at a Hillcrest Avenue station. The American Public Transportation Association classifies the service as

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...

. The BART map treats this service and the service using standard BART trains as a single line, dubbed the . The color associated with this entire line on maps and other BART wayfinding material is yellow.

History

Planning

For further extension into Contra Costa County and to extend the Pittsburg/Bay Point–SFO/Millbrae line, the DMU system was chosen as an alternative to the existing BART infrastructure because it was claimed to be both less expensive to implement and would more easily allow further extensions. Initial plans had trains running on the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

that runs parallel to State Route 4. After Union Pacific declined to grant trackage rights or allow laying of new tracks, the line was merged with a construction project already in the process of widening the adjacent freeway, by laying tracks in its

. Construction of the Railroad Avenue station in Pittsburg had been uncertain as planning and construction progressed but was fully funded by the city to open with the rest of the extension. Ridership was initially projected at 5600 entrances and exits per weekday (supposing an opening date of 2015).

Funding and construction

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

increase was approved by Contra Costa voters in 2004 in order to fund the expansion. The expansion was approved by the BART board in April 2009. Costs were set at $463 million (equivalent to $ in ), compared to an estimated $1.2 billion (equivalent to $ in ) for full BART buildout. On October 14, 2010, BART issued a press release announcing that the agency had awarded a $26 million (equivalent to $ in ) contract to West Bay Builders, of Novato, "to build the transfer platform and make some of the necessary rail improvements to begin extending the line to a terminus station at Hillcrest Avenue in Antioch." Construction on the line began in early 2011. Funding for the Pittsburg station was secured in early 2015, and the station opened with the commencement of operations.

Start of service

Revenue service began on May 26, 2018. The new stations reached 7,441 daily customer entrances and exits within the first three workdays, while ridership and parking levels at the previous terminal, Pittsburg/Bay Point, declined. Its design and operation, the result of several compromises, were criticized by Streetsblog.

Future

While not fully planned or funded , expansions of the DMU system could connect eBART service to Oakley,

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

, or the Brentwood Transit Center in Brentwood. In 2017, the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission indicated that eBART could be extended to Tracy, where it would connect with the

Altamont Corridor Express The Altamont Corridor Express (also known as ACE, formerly Altamont Commuter Express) is a commuter rail service in California, connecting Stockton and San Jose during peak hours only. ACE is named for the Altamont Pass, through which it runs ...

and a proposed Valley link line.

Stations

EBART test DMU leaving central Pittsburg transfer point

All eBART stations are in

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

Rolling stock

Trains servicing the line include eight Stadler GTW coupled pairs. The first were delivered in June 2016, and the agency has two options to procure six more sets. The Stadler GTW trains are

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s with 2/6 articulated power units, and are based on models previously used in Austin (

Capital MetroRail Capital MetroRail is a hybrid rail (light rail with some features similar to commuter rail) line that serves the Greater Austin area in Texas, and which is owned by Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Capital Metro. The Red Line, Capi ...

), Denton (

A-train is a series of business simulation video games developed and published by Japanese game developer Artdink in Japan. The first game in the series was published in 1985. The first release in the United States was ''Take the A-Train II'', published ...

), and New Jersey ( River Line).

References

External links

* {{authority control Bay Area Rapid Transit Antioch, California Bay Point, California Brentwood, California California railroads Light rail in California Pittsburg, California Public transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area Railway lines in highway medians Railway lines opened in 2018 Standard gauge railways in the United States Transportation in Contra Costa County, California Railway branch lines 2018 establishments in California