BART Planning Huge Investment in New Cars

"'This is a significant undertaking for this agency, one we don't even make every generation,' BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger said Thursday. Many of the 669 BART cars now in service have been running since the system opened in 1972.

BART officials are confident they can get $1 billion, most of which would come from the federal government, to pay for 200 cars and hope to get a further $2.4 billion in funding to pay for the remaining 500 trains in the fleet. Some of the costs could be paid for by fare hikes and bridge toll increases.

The goal is to have the first 10 pilot cars delivered in 2014 and put those into regular service for more testing a year later. Ultimately, the cars would be delivered in stages, with the first big order completed in 2018 and the final one in 2024, if all goes according to plan. About eight cars could be built per month, officials estimate."