System Facts

Mileage
104 total: The A-line from Fremont to Lake Merritt, 23.8 miles; the M, W and Y-line from Oakland West to Millbrae, 27 miles; the R-line from Richmond to MacArthur, 10.6 miles; the C-line from Pittsburg/Bay Point to Rockridge, 29.3 miles; and the L-line Dublin/Pleasanton to Castro Valley, 14 miles. There are approximately 37 miles of track through subways and tunnels, 23 miles of aerial track and 44 of surface track. (Four additional miles of double track in subways and four underground stations for the S.F. Municipal Railway were constructed by BART as specified by the original 1962 plan.)

Stations
The 43 BART stations comprise 15 surface, 13 elevated and 15 subway stations. Four of these are a combination of BART and MUNI Metro stations in downtown San Francisco and one station is a combination of BART and Caltrain in Millbrae. For an overview of each station, visit the Stations section.

Trains
Third rail propulsion power is 1000-volt DC electricity. One 150 hp motor per axle, four motors per car. Aluminum body, carpeting, air conditioning, tinted windows. Car - 70' long without cab (B-Car), 75' long with cab (A-Car) 10'6 high, 10'6 wide, headroom 6'9". Track gauge
5'6" wide compared to 4'8" for standard.

Number of cars
450 original vehicles built by Rohr. SOFERVAL, a French firm, built 150 new transit vehicles called the C-Cars, which have the capability of operating as a lead, middle or trailing car of a train. Also, Morrison-Knudson Corporation is building 80 new C2 cars. Like the C-Car, the new C2 car is designed to be used as a lead or trailing car on a train or as a mid-train car. Car seating capacity - 72 in both the Rohr-built A- and B-Cars, and 64 in C-Cars and C2-Cars.

Speed
80 mph maximum; 33 mph average, including 20-second station stops.

Operations Control Center (OCC)
The current Operations Control Center (OCC) replaced the old "central control room" which made history when the system first opened in 1972, with what was considered the largest monitor display board of its kind in the country. The OCC functions as the nerve center of BART's 95-mile system, performing supervisory control of train operations and remote control of electrification, ventilation and emergency response systems. The new display boards use computer imaging and video projection to display the entire system, combining information into two: one for track and train positions and the other for maintenance information and electrification. Because the display is software-driven, it can be updated with virtually no limit to the miles of track or number of stations depicted. Stations and wayside - Network of control devices and track circuits controlling train speeds, stops and safe spacing. Backup train protection system - Sequential Occupancy Release System (SORS): 52 mini-computers in 26 stations.

Ticket Equipment
480 ticket vending machines, 579 faregates and 162 addfare machines are supplied by Cubic Corporation. Entry gates record time, date and station, then return tickets. Exit gates compute fares, take tickets, compute fares, deduct the proper amount or inform if additional payment is needed.

Tickets
Credit-card size, magnetically encoded or stored with up to $32 in fares. Machines automatically deduct trip fares from stored fare value on ticket.

Fares
BART fares are based on how far you travel. To check fares visit the Fare Calculator. Discounted tickets are available at participating banks, retailers, social-service agencies and community-based organizations and the BART Customer Service Office. Discount tickets are not available at BART Stations. Children 4 and under ride free, children 5 through 12, senior citizens (age 65 and over) and persons with disabilities are eligible for discounts. Visit the Ticket section for more information.