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BART is making more progress with its effort to replace aging fare gates at all 50 stations by the end of this year. This week BART will begin installing Next Generation Fare Gates at Concord, Glen Park, and San Leandro stations. Work is also scheduled to begin next week at El Cerrito Plaza Station. The latest work comes after BART has successfully installed Next Generation Fare Gates at 22 stations across the system.

The work will not impact train service, but riders may experience a few extra minutes wait to pass through the fare gates during peak travel hours.

You can learn more about BART’s Next Generation Fare Gates project here

Tyler and Raja Singh pictured commuting together on BART.

This past summer, Raja and Tyler Singh did something they’d never done before; they worked together. They also traveled to their Downtown San Francisco office on BART with each other in what they described as a relaxing bonding experience. 

Tyler is Raja’s son. A second year at Santa Clara University, Tyler also worked as Raja’s intern over summer break doing quality assurance at his dad’s new enterprise software company, Revolear. Raja deliberately headquartered the company in Downtown San Francisco, in the building directly above Montgomery Street Station, at the “crux of all transit lines.”  

Every morning the two would head to the office, sitting or standing side-by-side on the train, for the three in-office days Raja and his cofounder required of employees. Tyler would drive the five-minute ride to Lafayette Station while Raja “slumped over in the passenger seat." Tyler said they timed their exiting of the house thoughtfully, referencing the official BART app, which displays real-time train arrivals and departures.  

In addition to making sure he leaves on time, Raja said he’s loved taking his son behind the curtain of his working life – an experience most children never have. The workday, for many kids, is a black box from which their parents come and go. 

“It’s super fun to have Tyler at the office and seeing what I do every day when I’m not home,” Raja said. 

Before setting out on his own, Raja worked at various software companies. Since 2011, he’s taken BART to various offices in San Francisco. He said he’s long understood the importance of a relaxed, reliable commute – one that wouldn’t require sitting in miles of traffic to travel from his home in Lafayette.  

When starting his own business, Raja realized that transit would serve his employees’ well-being and morale. It also, as an added bonus, would serve his own interests and priorities as the head honcho. 

"People perceive going into the office as somewhat of a burden, and I thought it was important to make it as easy as possible for folks,” he said. “It’s more relaxing to get on BART and zone out or work than it is to navigate a tunnel and bridge then find parking downtown.” Raja would know – he's been commuting by BART for well over a decade. 

Employee Tyler agreed: "BART is faster and more consistent. You can’t drive to the city in a half hour. Definitely not.”  

Raja also cited the recruitment benefits of headquartering his company by transit. They can enter the office, at 44 Montgomery Street, directly from the station, without having to step foot outside. Raja said nine of his employees live in the Bay Area and all of them commute by transit – seven take BART and two travel by Muni from their homes in the city. 

“Because we’re located at a transit hub, we can recruit from the East Bay, the South Bay, the Peninsula, and the city all at once, and it’s equally easy to get there,” he said “There's nowhere else in the Bay where you can say that. It gives you the broadest recruiting reach.”  

Raja has witnessed the ups and downs of Downtown San Francisco since the start of the pandemic. He said he himself got back on BART two years after the onset of the lockdown. But he has faith that the area will spring back to its former vibrant self. He expects rents to adjust to make Downtown SF once again attractive to companies.  

There is, he added, nowhere quite like San Francisco. It remains an attractive destination for enticing potential customers for corporate visits, an integral part of the sales process.  

“It’s stunningly beautiful, it has great fancy restaurants, and it remains a destination for people,” Raja said. “There’s nowhere like San Francisco. People want to visit!”  

Update: June 26, 2024 7:15 am

Crews moved our maintenance vehicle out of the way last night. 

The Red Line returned to service when we opened this morning.

We apologize for the inconvenience it caused and we thank our riders for their patience.

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At about 3:30am on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, a BART track maintenance vehicle derailed near 19th Street/Oakland Station blocking one set of tracks.

No BART stations are closed but the Red Line is cancelled. We anticipate the Red Line to be cancelled all day but back in service tomorrow. Red line trains will show as cancelled in real time departures and the Trip Planner. 

• San Francisco bound passengers coming from the Richmond direction who would normally take a Red Line train should take an Orange Line Berryessa train and transfer to a Yellow Line San Francisco train at MacArthur Station. 
• Millbrae riders should take the Yellow Line.
• Orange Line trains coming from Richmond will need to divert to West Oakland after 12th St. Station and then turn back towards the Berryessa direction. So they will run: 12th St, West Oakland, Lake Merritt, and so on. Orange Line trains coming from Berryessa don’t need to do this.
• Platform 2 at 19th Street/Oakland Station is closed and trains may be stopping at a different platform that usual at 12th and 19th St stations.

The incident is not causing major delays. 

BART Service Alerts are available via email, text, or customized push notifications in our official BART app. 

Text and email opt-in: http://cloud.info.bart.gov/signup 

On our app, select the profile icon and then notification settings. Set as many as you need for exactly when you typically ride BART. You will get push notifications of our alerts only during the selected times.

BART riders will benefit from faster train speeds through the downtown Oakland core service area following the repair of an essential power substation. Last summer, the substation located near 19th Street Station failed after experiencing a fault, requiring BART to realign power distributions from nearby redundant substations while repairs were being made. This configuration required BART to run trains at slower speeds in the track areas approaching MacArthur, 19th Street, and 12th Street stations. Trains were also metered into these stations, causing frequent but short train holds. This service plan caused delays of about three minutes, but those delays could compound when other incidents occurred in the system.

Crews have been diligently working to get the substation back to full operations, and late last week, the substation was successfully brought online. Over the weekend, normal speeds were restored. Trains no longer need to run at 27 mph through the area and are now travelling up to 70 mph.

2025 will be an important year for fortifying and expanding BART’s power substations. Another substation located east of the Transbay Tube is being fully renovated, and two new power substations located near Civic Center and Montgomery stations will also be coming online this year. This work plays a key role in ensuring that BART’s power system infrastructure is robust, reliable, and ready for the future. 

BART Directors have extended the highly successful restroom and attendant programs for another two years. The Board voted to award new contracts to provide attendants at the stations where they are already working through June 30, 2027. 

“The service these attendants provide are a vivid example of the type experience we need to offer the public,” said BART Board President Mark Foley. “A smile, a pleasant greeting and a professional attitude make a big difference – and these attendants keep our elevators and restrooms in the safe and clean condition our riders deserve.” 

The elevator attendant program began in 2018 at downtown San Francisco stations, with attendants in the elevators at all times trains were running, making sure users were following the rules, getting to where they needed to go and contacting BART staff with any issues.  

The program later expanded to all four downtown San Francisco stations: Embarcadero, Montgomery St., Powell St. and Civic Center. 

The restroom attendant program began in 2022 when BART reopened remodeled restrooms at Powell St. and 19th Street in Oakland. The restroom attendants make sure the restrooms are being used for their intended purpose and provide a friendly, safe presence.  

Restroom attendants are on duty while trains are in service at all four downtown San Francisco stations, 19th Street and Lake Merritt in Oakland and Downtown Berkeley Station. 

The attendants are one reason restroom availability survey results increased six percent in BART’s most recent Customer Satisfaction Survey compared to the previous survey.   

For the third year in a row, BART is bringing holiday magic with a transit twist to Rockridge BART Station Plaza!  

Join us to celebrate the season, show off your Bay Area pride, and rock the iconic BART holiday sweater. The free, family-friendly event will be held from 1pm to 3pm on Saturday, Dec. 13.  

We’ll have some new activities this year, including rides on the BARTmobile through a whimsical winter wonderland, as well as some only-at-SweaterFest exclusives. 

Haven’t snagged this year’s design yet? You can purchase one and other BART merchandise at the SweaterFest Railgoods Pop-Up Shop (or buy one ahead of time on Railgoods.com or a station pop-up). If you missed the red or green sweater presale colors, you're in luck – we’ve saved a stash just for SweaterFest.  

At the end of the event, we’ll gather for a group photo in our sweaters at 3pm. Rock this year’s sweater or a vintage one from years past. 

And if you’re collecting stamps in your BART Stamp Passport, bring it to the event to get the 2025 SweaterFest stamp.  

What to expect: 

• Railgoods Pop-Up Shop
• Rides on the BARTmobile through a mini winter wonderland
• Festive live band
• Giant snow globe photo op
• Transit-themed crafts
• Raffle
• Stamp rally 

Bundle up, bring your holiday spirit, and let’s make merry together! 

The group photo from SweaterFest '23. 

(October 2 update):  The track shutdowns that had been planned for two weekends in October and November between Rockridge, MacArthur, and 19th Street stations have been postponed until 2025. The postponement will allow BART to focus on other priorities to improve reliability and limit future disruptions. We also continue to evaluate lessons learned from the first shutdown weekend in June, as we plan to adjust our approach and execution. BART’s goal remains to minimize short term impacts on riders by maximizing work efficiency. 

BART crews have begun the process of replacing a series of interlockings between Rockridge, MacArthur, and 19th Street stations.  Free buses will replace trains between Rockridge, MacArthur, and 19th Street stations on 18 non-consecutive weekends over the next three years.  Riders can expect delays of 40 minutes in the area on those work weekends. There will be no Red Line service on these weekends but the Orange line will serve Richmond riders.

Additional service impacts on all work weekends for this project include:

*Yellow Line will run 20-minute service.
*Orange/Blue/Green Lines will run 30-minute service (usually 20 minutes but not possible given project constraints).
*Service to/from Millbrae will be via the Yellow Line.
*All train schedules will be different from the normal weekend timetables. Please check the Trip Planner to see the new train departure times (use the impacted dates of service when planning).
*Due to the new schedule, the last train departures of the night may be earlier than the regularly scheduled departures.
*MacArthur Station will be open for southbound Orange Line stops from Richmond. No Yellow Line service to MacArthur (Yellow line trains end a Rockridge).
*Orange Line bus bridge will operate between MacArthur and 19th St.
*Yellow Line bus bridge will include buses that go directly between Rockridge and 19th St as well as buses that also stop at MacArthur.
*Lower level platforms at both 12th and 19th Street stations will be out of service.
*All buses used for the bus bridge will be outfitted with racks for bicycles. You can also bring traditional bicycles onto the buses if space allows. Please avoid bringing motorized bikes or eBikes to the bus bridge as they may not be allowed on the buses. 
*It might be faster to ride your bike between stations than to take the bus bridge. It might also be faster for Richmond Line riders to ride their bikes directly to 19th Street and take BART to their final destination from there. 

Interlockings are a vital part of the BART system. They are segments of the railway that allow trains to safely move from track to track. Shutting down train service in the work area ensures a safe workspace for the project team. Work on this project will happen on select, non-consecutive weekends into 2026.

BART crews will make the most of their time in the system by taking on as many trackway improvement projects as possible on the weekends when this portion of the system is closed to trains. In addition to replacing interlockings, the team will also replace traction power cables, install new train control equipment, install new digital display signs at underground stations up to Berkeley and 12th Street/Oakland City Center, manage vegetation that could impact service, and do deep station cleaning.

This will be one of the most challenging rebuilding projects that BART has ever undertaken because of the location of the project. With limited workspace, crews will be unable to use a crane or other heavy equipment to lift track components into place. Instead, workers will transport all materials on rail and assemble larger components by hand. The equipment being replaced is decades old and has outlived its design life. Riders will enjoy a smoother, safer, more reliable, and quieter ride once this project is complete. You can get more details on this project from this staff presentation to the BART Board of Directors.

This project is part of BART’s overall effort to improve the safety and reliability of the 131-mile, 50 station system. There are now more rebuilding projects happening across BART than at any point in its 50-year history. You can learn more about the progress of this work by reading the 2023 Measure RR Annual Report published by the independent Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee.

You can keep up with the latest updates for trackway repair projects that impact service by going to our Alerts and Advisories page.

Learn more about the project with our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. Also, check out our podcast for an in-depth discussion about the project, its challenges, and long-term benefits for riders.

*This article was originally published May 1, 2024.