West Oakland escalator out-of-service for repair through January 2012

We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the out-of-service escalator at the West Oakland BART Station.

The main gear drive assembly has worn out after 39 years of service and needs to be rebuilt and replaced. This is a major undertaking that will require an extensive amount of precision work. This means the escalator will be out of service until January 2012. We are working hard to complete the work sooner, if possible. Because of the age of the escalator, some of the replacement parts require custom machining by an out-of-state manufacturer − the only source for these large, specialized gears. All necessary parts have been identified and the work has started to dismantle the escalator. We are hopeful that we will not find other issues as we proceed but this is an opportunity to find and replace worn parts we don’t usually have access to.

We recognize the great inconvenience this will cause you, but it will allow us to conduct a full service on the inner workings of the escalator which has not been done in many years. We hope that once this work is complete, it will result in many more years of trouble-free operation. People who rely on the escalator will have to use the elevator to get to their destination. To check the operational status of the elevator before arriving at the station, please call 510-834-LIFT or 888-2-ELEVAT.

If you need language assistance services, please call BART’s Transit Information Center at (510) 465-2278.

You can also download the complete Passenger Bulletin (.pdf).