BART Board hears staff recommendation for Fleet of the Future contract

BART staff today recommended that the Board of Directors authorize award of a contract to build the next-generation Fleet of the Future to North American-based Bombardier.

Bombardier bid the lowest price and earned the highest technical score in the competition to build BART’s new cars. In choosing Bombardier, the Bay Area would pay $184 million less than it would have with the second-place proposer, the French company Alstom. Bombardier would assemble the cars in America with 66% domestic content. 

State and federal laws and regulations leave the BART Board with only two options when they vote on the issue, currently scheduled to occur on May 10.  It can award the contract to Bombardier, the highest-scoring proposer, or vote to start the entire selection process over again. Starting over would mean a delay of about 18 months during which workers would remain idle, with no guarantee of comparable bids in the next round, plus additional costs for BART.

To learn more, download the staff presentation (.pdf) that was discussed at today’s Board meeting, or view a webcast of the meeting. You can also read an editorial column by General Manager Grace Crunican that was published today in the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Read more about the project to replace BART's oldest-in-the-nation rail cars at the Fleet of the Future website, including the FAQ page with more details about the selection process to choose a carbuilder.