The break of gauge and the use of diesel power makes the eBART system separate from and incompatible with the main BART rapid transit system.[9] Passengers make a cross-platform transfer at an auxiliary island platform0.6 miles (0.97km) east of Pittsburg/Bay Point station. From this platform, the extension proceeds 9.1 miles (14.6km)[4] east in the State Route 4median to the city of Antioch[10] at a Hillcrest Avenue station. The BART map treats this service and the service using standard BART trains as a single line, dubbed the Yellow Line.
History
This section needs expansionwith: Commentary and criticism on decisions to use different gauge and rolling stock, placement in freeway median, and funding of Pittsburg Center station. You can help by adding to it. (January 2018)
Development
A feasibility study which completed in 2001 proposed that BART service could be extended into eastern Contra Costa County at a lower cost than full BART (grade-separated broad-gauge track) by using diesel multiple units (DMU) on standard gauge track in an existing rail right-of-way.[11]:2.1 It was estimated the cost of extending conventional BART would be up to 21⁄2 times the cost of an equivalent service using DMUs over the same distance.[12] Because commercially available DMUs would not meet Federal Railroad Administration crash standards, they would need to be separated from freight rail, either by operating on an exclusive set of tracks or at exclusive times during the day.[11]:2.2 One of the key requirements was to ensure that broad-gauge BART could be constructed in the future using the structures built for any extension.[11]:2.1
Initial plans published in 2002 proposed DMU trains would run in the median of California State Route 4 east of the existing terminus at Pittsburg/Bay Point in an area reserved for BART expansion, then the tracks would cross the freeway via an aerial structure at Loveridge Road in Pittsburg to continue east along the Union Pacific Railroadright-of-way (ROW) for the Mococo Line, which parallels SR 4 to Oakley.[11]:2.2 At Oakley, eBART would turn southeast, continuing to follow the UPRR Mococo ROW, terminating at Byron.[13] The existing freight rail line would be relocated within the right-of-way to accommodate double-track eBART service.[11]:2.2
The initial proposal also planned to build five stations over a system length of 23mi (37km), each located near where the Mococo Line crosses the following streets:[11]:2.3,2.4
By 2005, a sixth station had been added in Pittsburg (at Railroad Avenue, in the median of SR 4)[18] and the Somersville Road station had been relocated east to the Antioch Fairgrounds[14] near L Street.[19][20]
Finalized plans
After Union Pacific declined to grant trackage rights or allow laying of new tracks,[21] the planned route was merged with a construction project already in progress for SR 4, with tracks to continue east of Loveridge in its median.[22] The SR 4 Bypass project widened the freeway and extended it to the east by adding a bypass for local streets in Brentwood and Antioch.[23][24] By the time the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for eBART was published in 2008, the initial proposed phase had been scaled back to two stations, retaining an intermediate stop in Pittsburg (Railroad Ave) and shifting the planned terminus to Antioch (Hillcrest Ave), along with a transfer platform near the existing Pittsburg/Bay Point station;[25] the DEIR also included additional options for the location of the Phase I terminal station in Antioch (Hillcrest) with the goal to preserve plans for future line extension further east and south along the Mococo Line right-of-way.[25]:2.23
Ridership was initially projected at 3,900[25]:2.34 to 5,600[26] entrances and exits per weekday, assuming an opening date of 2015, rising to 10,100 by 2030, with planned service headways of 15minutes. Total travel time would be 13 minutes from the transfer platform to Antioch (Hillcrest), including a 3 minute dwell at the transfer platform and a 1 minute stop at Pittsburg (Railroad Ave).[25]:2.34,2.35 It was estimated that a single DMU rail car has a fuel consumption of 1.38mpg‑US (170l/100km).[27]:3.15-9
Alternatives studied included bus rapid transit using dedicated lanes, overhead (catenary) electric light rail vehicles, and standard BART trains.[28] Compared to the proposed $486million cost to implement eBART with DMUs, a similar BRT service would cost $393–611M, depending on the options selected; LRV $528M; and BART $1173M.[28]:5.21,5.28,5.35
Funding and construction
Transfer platform under construction in 2018
A sales tax increase was approved by Contra Costa voters in 2004 in order to fund the expansion.[29] The expansion was approved by the BART board in April 2009.[30] Costs were set at $463million (equivalent to $679million in 2024), compared to an estimated $1.2billion (equivalent to $1.76billion in 2024) for full BART buildout.[10] On October14, 2010, BART issued a press release announcing that the agency had awarded a $26million (equivalent to $37.5million in 2024) 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."[31]
Construction on the line began in early 2011.[7] Construction of the Railroad Avenue station in Pittsburg had been uncertain as planning and construction progressed but it was fully funded by the city in early 2015,[32] and opened in 2018 along with the rest of the extension.
Start of service
Revenue service began on May 26, 2018.[3] 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.[26] Its design and operation, the result of several compromises, were criticized by Streetsblog.[33]
Future
While not fully planned or funded as of 2018[update], proposals have been advanced to extend the eBART line to Oakley, Byron,[22] or the Brentwood Transit Center in Brentwood.[34] During the planning phase for Antioch station, it was noted that any potential extension along the median of SR 4[21] is feasible only to Balfour Road in Brentwood without further widening of the freeway; by acquiring a right-of-way adjacent to the Mococo Line, service could be extended to Laurel Road in Brentwood.[35]
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 and the proposed Valley Link line.[36] An extension to Tracy is possible only if rights to share the Mococo Line right-of-way are acquired from UPRR. This would create a transit loop connecting the current eastern termini of the BART Yellow (Pittsburg/Bay Point) and Blue (Dublin/Pleasanton) lines.[35]
Stations
Test DMU leaving Pittsburg Center station in the median of Highway 4 at sunset heading east to the Hillcrest Avenue, Antioch terminus
Trains servicing the line include eight Stadler GTW coupled pairs. The first were delivered in June 2016,[5] and the agency has two options to procure six more sets.[37] The Stadler GTW trains are diesel multiple units with 2/6 articulated power units, and are based on models previously used in Austin (Capital MetroRail), Denton (A-train), and New Jersey (River Line).[9][38]
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