Rail Vehicle Procurement

The Next Generation of BART Vehicles

BART has been providing the Bay Area with transit service since 1972.  In those 37 years, BART has grown along with the region and today provides service along 104 miles of track, to 43 stations in four counties. 

Replacement of the 669 vehicles in the fleet presents BART with the exciting opportunity to procure a next generation of BART vehicles designed to handle the challenges of the next 30 years of service - through 2040 and beyond.  In addition to replacing the existing fleet, BART will require additional vehicles to meet future increased demand resulting from service expansions from the Oakland Airport Connector, eBart, Warm Springs and Silicon Valley/San Jose Extension projects in the next 30 years.  BART expects that the total fleet requirement will be 1,000 vehicles.

The majority of vehicles in the BART fleet have been in service since the start of BART service.  Three types of vehicles are in the fleet: Model A2/B2 (439 vehicles), Model C1 (150 vehicles), and Model C2 (80 vehicles) as shown in the table below: 

A successful rehabilitation program for the A/B vehicles in the late 1990s extended the vehicle life by 15 years and increased their reliability to better than the newer C-Car fleets. Now however, the rehabilitated A/B vehicles are approaching the end of their useful life, and the newer C-Cars are also due for replacement very soon.  In addition, increased ridership is putting greater strain on the fleet -- on average the vehicles currently run 110,000 miles per year, with 92% availability.

The technology in these vehicles has become very dated as well.  Significant improvements in technology have developed since these vehicles were designed, especially in areas such as propulsion systems, communications systems and failure monitoring systems.  Many of the older systems are out of production, the technology is no longer supported and parts are scarce -- all of which makes maintenance more difficult and costly.

In view of all these factors, BART has elected to replace, rather than refurbish the fleet. A new vehicle design will provide improved reliability necessary to support anticipated service demands and allow BART to benefit from new technologies. 

The new vehicle procurement is a capital investment for up to 1,000 vehicles and will span more than a decade.  The new vehicles will be designed for reliability, comfort and longevity.  They will have the capacity to carry a growing number of passengers and facilitate efficient boarding at stations in the years ahead. 

Request for Proposals
The Supplier who will design the new BART vehicles will be selected in a process that will take place over the next year.  The Request for Proposals (RFP) was released in September and it is expected that a Notice to Proceed will be issued to the selected Supplier late in 2010.  For more information about the RFP, look for RFP Number 40FA-110 "Procurement of Transit Vehicles" in the procurement section.

Download materials from the Pre-Proposal Meeting held on October 12, 2009:

Meeting Sign-in Sheets (.pdf)

Meeting Presentation (.pdf)

List of Potential Suppliers (.pdf)

Interior Design Process
The specification requires the Supplier, in conjunction with BART staff, to lead a phased design process that will involve no fewer than three Supplier-created interior design concepts for BART staff review and input.  The Supplier will provide three renderings of no fewer than three vehicle layouts District staff and stakeholders, including the public, will be asked to review and provide feedback to BART during the design phase.  Comments received by the District from the public to date will also be considered. 

Once the District selects a design, the Supplier will provide a full-scale mock-up of the selected design that includes the carshell, doors, seats, interior, proposed materials, and communications elements.  This full-scale physical mock-up will be suitable for the general public to walk on and through in order to experience the physical three-dimensional space and provide feedback to BART.

The seating configuration in the current BART vehicles has advantages and disadvantages. The District will work with the selected supplier to retain some of the positive features of the current seating configuration while improving on others in designing the new interior layout.  The objectives of a new interior design are:

• Maintain a Similar Level of Loading Standard in order to maintain the level of comfort for passengers.
• Maximize Flexibility by requiring modular seating that can be changed to satisfy passenger demand and requirements. Because the new vehicles will have an operating life of 20 to 30 years, it is important that they be designed to satisfy current and future operating requirements anywhere in the system.
• Maximize Passenger Carrying Capacity without significantly and/or adversely affecting comfort. Since the core system is expected to reach transbay passenger carrying capacity at roughly 2018, it is important that the new vehicles be designed to maximize capacity.
• Provide Effective Placement of Seats and Standee Areas to maximize space utilization and minimize dead space.
• Remove or Relocate Obstructions to Passenger Flow to maximize flow efficiency in major passenger movement areas.
• Distribute Passengers Evenly Throughout the Vehicle by strategically locating open spaces in critical areas.
• Minimize Movement or Flow Disturbances in the Aisles for passengers getting out of window seats.
• Provide Ergonomic Seat Design to maintain or enhance comfort while ensuring improved maintainability.

Project Milestones

• 2009 - Request for Proposals release
• 2010 - Vehicle Supplier Bid and Selection
• 2011 - Vehicle Design and Public Design Input
• 2012 - Full Scale Vehicle Mock-ups Available
• 2014 - First 10 Vehicles Arrive for Testing
• 2016 - First Production Vehicles

Contact Us
For more information on the new vehicle procurement, contact: Molly McArthur at 510-464-6176. 

Last Updated: November 9, 2009