Immediate repair work begins on traction power cables between North Berkeley and El Cerrito Plaza stations

BART must immediately begin making repairs to failed electrical lines that are critical for maintaining train service between the North Berkeley and El Cerrito Plaza stations.  BART has been working on replacing aging traction power cables at different locations across the system but repair work in this location is being accelerated due to the failure of key components.  The repairs are not expected to impact BART service but the District is reaching out to neighbors to let them know about the potential of noise and light impacts from the work.

Starting Wednesday, January 27, 2021 and continuing through April 2022, BART crews will be working to replace the failed 34.5kV electrical cable lines between the North Berkeley Substation and El Cerrito Plaza Substation. This critical infrastructure provides power for our trains from the high voltage switching substation and supports redundancy for this portion of the BART system.  This equipment is essential for ensuring reliable train service between the North Berkeley Station and the Richmond Yard.

This 50-year-old electrical infrastructure (part of the legacy system) has exceeded the end of its design life and must be replaced as soon as possible. Loss of power in this section of track without any backup would have major impact on train operations for the entire BART system.

In order to perform this critical job, BART crews will work days and nights to complete this repair as soon as possible. Neighbors can expect construction activities under our aerial trackway with the operation of construction equipment and lights both day and nights during this construction period.