Progress on power at San Leandro Station

A lot of heavy lifting is happening at BART to ensure that trains can count on a reliable source of traction power.  In addition to replacing electrical cabling across the system, BART is also moving forward with the replacement of traction power substations.

The first station to get one of these new substations is San Leandro.  This past weekend a 46,000-pound transformer was delivered on a flatbed tractor trailer to the site along with two DC Switchgear Houses weight 42,000 and 59,000 pounds respectively.  There's a lot of installation work ahead but the new substation should be up and running this November.  In addition to replacing existing substations, BART plans to build two new ones in downtown San Francisco.  That will be a critical step toward BART being able to run more trains.  An upgraded power system, installation of a new train control system, and the addition of more Fleet of the Future cars will allow BART to increase the number of trains that travel through the Transbay Tube during the peak hours of the commute from 23 to 30.

The substation work is one of the many projects being funded by voter-approved Measure RR.  The measure provides $3.5 billion for infrastructure upgrades across BART.  There are currently 32 RR-funded projects throughout BART that are either in construction or complete.