BART's Vision For The Future

"It was 50 years ago this month that the Legislature formed the Bay Area Rapid Transit District. BART officials figure now is a good time to plot a big-picture vision for the next 50. That effort coincides with a regional rail plan being prepared by a variety of Bay Area transportation agencies."

"At a meeting in Oakland on Thursday, transportation experts discussed their ideas for what BART should become by the time it hits its centennial."

"The shape suggested Thursday seems to be compact and focused on the core BART system instead of dependent on far-reaching extensions. Along with building the planned extensions to Warm Springs and San Jose, an Oakland airport connection and a light-rail link known as eBART in eastern Contra Costa County, BART's plans call for the system to boost its capacity in the central part of its system -- in San Francisco and the East Bay."

"The BART of the future also should offer express trains from destinations such as Concord and Walnut Creek that would skip some stations en route to San Francisco, cutting several minutes from the trip. To offer that service, BART would need to install additional stretches of track that would allow trains to pass each other."

"But the biggest -- and costliest -- improvement would be the addition of a second Transbay Tube. By 2030, the current tube will be at capacity, unable to handle additional trains, said Tom Matoff, a transportation planner working on the regional rail plan."

"The I-680 line would start at the future Warm Springs Station, connect with the Dublin/Pleasanton and Walnut Creek stations, and end in downtown Martinez, where it would meet the Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin and long-distance Amtrak trains."