A Subway for Silicon Valley, and BART's Future (Episode 7 - BART - Part 6)

Finally, we've made it. This is the final BART video of the series, and today we're gonna look at the future of one of America's greatest metro systems, including an expansion into Silicon Valley.

Music from Epidemic Sound.

Sources:

[maddonhoh-choi]

11:30 San Diego?? eBart expansions are getting out of hand :0

[atthemoment]

I’m really surprised that Marin County turned down BART. A connection between SMART and BART would really be great, but knowing that they passed it up in the first place probably means that we won’t be getting one any time soon.

[itisnotmeMARCO]

You forgot to mention how dumb San Jose is for going with deep bore construction instead of cut and cover

[handro]

Extend eBART all the way to Tracy. Can also have it run on or take over the ACE lines (same track width) with more frequent service. Then add a transfer station where ACE and BART intersect in Fremont.

[gevans]

Please cover the Sacramento LRT next, or perhaps CA High Speed Rail!

[weirdfish]

Honestly I think it would be really stupid to make the second Transbay Tube broad gauge. It would be so much better for services like Capitol Corridor, San Joaquins, Caltrain, and of course CA HSR if it was a standard gauge track. Plus, BART would already have pretty good frequency across the bay once they get CBTC

edit: autocorrect

[TysonIke]

What is often not understood is that it is not legal under Bart’s own regulations for eastern contra costa to have conventional bart as the stations don’t meet the housing requirements or ridership projection standards. Also Ebart provides flexibility if wanted to use bnsf and up lines into the Central Valley.

[aragon]

Grew up in the Cahill park development to the west of Diridon, very excited for the San Jose extension project! Also, that LA hate segment was hilarious ngl

[bryanCJC]

What a great series you did. It's very thorough and I loved it.

Growing up in Fremont in the 70s, I will always know BART by the old line names, such as the Fremont Line (what it used to be called). Even now, I inadvertently refer to it as the Fremont Line or to the trains as "get on a Fremont train (or Concord train) to blah blah station". I had always wondered what San Jose would be like today if they has been a part of the original BART buildout. San Jose was a lot different back then. My aunts and uncles lived in Sunnyvale and East San Jose was lowrider country. It was awesome.

I don't know if there are anymore wide gauge BART lines to be built. It seems like e-BART is their only option cost-wise. Once e-BART got built, they're certainly not going to tear it up for wide gauge BART. They should electrify it though. Any extensions like a San Ramon Valley line to Martinez, or Hercules/Vallejo line would probably be standard gauge e-BART if built. I think the e-BART extensions should have ALOT of TOD development to help with the housing crisis, especially way out there where they could build a lot of it. Frankly, if e-BART is going to Discovery Bay (lots of room for dense housing and affordable housing out there), it may as well go into Stockton to serve that Stockton - Contra Costa County commute.

As for the 2nd Transbay Tube, standard gauge would probably be the way to go. I used to think that both gauges should be accommodated but I think any BART relief services would probably be better supplied by a Caltrain extension into the East Bay. And we can forget about BART ever heading down Geary. In other words, I see BART as not expanding any farther after San Jose (on the Fremont line :)) is finished. San Joaquins and Capitol Corridor Amtrak lines as well as a potential HSR from Sacramento (long after we're all dead probably) into SF could also use that tunnel, although that rail corridor is way too slow. I use the San Joaquins to visit my Mom in beautiful and gorgeous urban haven Fresno on a nice 300 degree day (at least it's not Bakersfield as they like to say).

Even the Dumbarton crossing will be standard gauge for Caltrain and ACE trains. However, the branch to Union City BART will finally provide a BART connection to Caltrain and ACE in the East Bay. The Caltrain extension to Salinas is also quite exciting.

Finally, SMART trains in Marin County should cross the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to connect with BART at Richmond or El Cerrito Del Norte. SMART can even extend north to Vallejo and from Vallejo north to Napa, Sonoma, and Fairfield. I think that should run in the I80 ROW in the East Bay to avoid the slow and meandering Amtrak ROW.

And I also lived in LA for 15 years and you are totally right. LA rapid transit will NEVER equal the Bay Area's. Light rail? Please. On-street light rail? Come on. What a joke.

[Yvonne-Bella]

Honestly, instead of expanding out to Discovery Bay, build from Walnut Creek down to Livermore on 680 or something. But yeah. Connect those areas together as that is a HIGH traffic area

[TheGreatPOD]

I could be wrong, it happens from time to time, but I believe the second trans bay tube is slated to be standard gauge turning the station at salesForce transit center into a through station with tracks continuing over to the east bay. Well, that's the way I've heard it, which I think would be awesome, it would also allow California high-speed rail to instead of terminating in San Francisco, continuing up to Sacramento eventually. Sadly, I don't think any of that's gonna happen in my lifetime, but you never know. Great video.

[eastridgecentersj]

We love BART coming into SJ! I'm a bit biased, but a video on the currently under construction Eastridge VTA to Bart extension would be awesome.

[Ellerich]

Perhaps you covered this in another video: When will BART figure out a way to significantly increase the speed of their trains and I don't mean reduce delays? Is this even possible or will it take new tracks and cars? Also, how can BART significantly reduce the noise of their trains?

[barryrobbins]

9:25 I thought one of the main bottlenecks in the BART system was the transbay tube. Two lines, one for BART and one for standard gauge, would be even better. ☁️😀☁️

[passatboi]

Things I wish they would do: station at SJC, not "adjacent to" where you have to transfer to a people mover or something. It's been proven time and time again that direct airport connections are much much better. Also, plan for downtown VTA in a tunnel connected to the station. VTA is slow downtown and should eventually be put in a tunnel. Having it "roughed in" to the Bart station would be great. But....no vision, I guess.

[lowwastehighmelanin]

There desperately needs to be a second transbay tube. Hopeful the Alameda situation works out. It's a huge pain in the but getting there on ACTransit

[EdwardM-tp]

The stations in the highway medians could be made less uncomfortable with platform screen doors and with heating and air conditioning.

[jmm]

Always wondered why bart doesnt put noise walls on the highway median stations

[Noblemarq]

Wow, BART has grown from my childhood, when i was young, Concord to Daly city, was as far as you could go, I believe Richmond was the north terminus, an i forget how far it went south from Oakland, after the tunnel

[ashleyhamman]

I'd love to see a second Transbay Tube host a Caltrain service out to the delta via Richmond and Pinole, functioning as a sort of express-BART, and also boosting connectivity of the Capitol Corridor. The other obvious choice is Transbay Capitol Corridor, which would make trips to anywhere except North Bay a single-interchange trip from Sacramento.