EBART


eBART is the project name for a diesel multiple unit light rail branch line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in eastern Contra Costa County, California, United States. Service starts at Pittsburg/Bay Point station and extends to Antioch station.
eBART tracks and trains are incompatible with those of the main BART rapid transit system, making it impossible for trains to move between the two systems; instead, passengers transfer via a cross platform interchange at an auxiliary BART stop at Pittsburg/Bay Pointthe eBART platform is accessible only via an intra-station ride from the main station to this auxiliary stop. The extension proceeds east along the State Route 4 median to the city of Antioch at a Hillcrest Avenue station. The American Public Transportation Association classifies the service as a commuter rail.
The BART map treats this service and the service using standard BART trains running from SFO to Pittsburg/Bay Point as a single line, dubbed Antioch–SFO. The color associated with this entire line on maps and other BART wayfaring material is yellow.

History

Planning

For further extension into Contra Costa County and to extend the Pittsburg/Bay Point–SFO/Millbrae line, the DMU system was chosen as an alternative to the existing BART infrastructure because it was claimed to be both less expensive to implement and would more easily allow further extensions.
Initial plans had trains running on the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way that runs parallel to State Route 4. After Union Pacific declined to grant trackage rights or allow laying of new tracks, the line was merged with a construction project already in the process of widening the adjacent freeway, by laying tracks in its median. Construction of the Railroad Avenue station in Pittsburg had been uncertain as planning and construction progressed but was fully funded by the city to open with the rest of the extension.
Ridership was initially projected at 5600 entrances and exits per weekday.

Funding and construction

A sales tax increase was approved by Contra Costa voters in 2004 in order to fund the expansion. The expansion was approved by the BART board in April 2009. Costs were set at $463 million, compared to an estimated $1.2 billion for full BART buildout. On October 14, 2010, BART issued a press release announcing that the agency had awarded a $26 million 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."
Construction on the line began in early 2011. Funding for the Pittsburg station was secured in early 2015, and the station opened with the commencement of operations.

Start of service

Revenue service began on May 26, 2018. 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.

Future

While not fully planned or funded as of 2018, expansions of the DMU system could connect eBART service to Oakley, Byron, or the Brentwood Transit Center in Brentwood. 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 a proposed Valley link line.

Stations

All eBART stations are in Contra Costa County.
StationCityOpenedOther BART lines
AntiochMay 26, 2018
PittsburgMay 26, 2018
PittsburgDecember 7, 1996

Rolling stock

Trains servicing the line include eight Stadler GTW coupled pairs. The first were delivered in June 2016, and the agency has two options to procure six more sets. The Stadler GTW trains are diesel multiple units with 2/6 articulated power units, and are based on models previously used in Austin, Denton, and New Jersey.