The Orange Line is a

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) line in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

that runs between

Berryessa/North San José station Berryessa/North San José station (also known as Berryessa station and Berryessa Transit Center) is an intermodal transit center located in the Berryessa district of San Jose, California. The station is served by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) a ...

and Richmond station. It has 21 stations in San Jose,

Milpitas Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marí ...

, Fremont, Union City, Hayward,

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

, El Cerrito, and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. It is the only of the five primary BART services that does not run through the

Transbay Tube The Transbay Tube is an underwater rail tunnel that carries Bay Area Rapid Transit's four transbay lines under San Francisco Bay between the cities of San Francisco and Oakland in California. The tube is long, and attaches to twin bored tunnels ...

to San Francisco; however, it shares tracks with the four other primary services in the East Bay.

History

The Orange Line was the first BART line to open. Initial services between MacArthur and Fremont stations began on September 11, 1972, with full service extending to

beginning on January 29, 1973. The line would not see any major changes for another 45 years, until the start of the

Silicon Valley BART extension The Silicon Valley BART extension is an ongoing effort to expand service by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) into Santa Clara County via the East Bay from its former terminus at the Fremont station in Alameda County. Planned since at least 1981, th ...

. The first phase of the project extended the line to Warm Springs/South Fremont station in March 2017, the second phase added Berryessa/North San José and Milpitas stations in June 2020.

Route

The Orange Line runs primarily north-south through the East Bay. It uses the R-Line between Richmond station and just north of MacArthur station, the

K-Line K-Line Electric Trains is a brand name of O gauge and S gauge model railway locomotives, rolling stock, and buildings. Formerly the brand name under which Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based MDK Inc. sold its products, K-Line was then acquired ...

between MacArthur and the

Oakland Wye The Oakland Wye is an underground flying wye junction in downtown Oakland, California which serves the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. Trains can switch between (a) the northbound Richmond or Antioch lines (first station: , underground), ...

, the A-Line between the Wye and

Fremont station Fremont station (also known as Fremont–Centerville station) is a train station located in the Centerville area of Fremont, California, United States. The station is served by Amtrak ''Capitol Corridor'' commuter rail/intercity rail service a ...

, and the S-Line between Fremont and

. Most sections are at-grade or elevated; the line runs through tunnels in downtown Berkeley, downtown Oakland, and under Lake Elizabeth.

Stations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berryessa North San Jose-Richmond line Orange Line (BART) Railway lines opened in 1972 1972 establishments in California