Single Tracking: Service reduced to one track in Orinda on two April weekends due to power cable work

BART crews are doing work in the BART Berkeley Hills Tunnel to ensure trains have a reliable source of power. This includes installing new troughs to safely hold the 34.5kV (kilovolt) cables as well as replacing cables that have been in use for decades and have outlived their design life.

Riders traveling in that area can expect delays of 15-20 minutes during those work windows. Contra Costa County riders traveling westbound and looking to avoid the delay entirely should go directly to the Rockridge Station.

The traction power work happening near Orinda is not taking BART resources away from the emergency cable repairs underway on the BART track section between Richmond and MacArthur. The work near Orinda Station is to install troughs for the future installation of new 34.5 kV cables. The work is being done by a team from BART’s construction structures department, which is separate from the electrical crews who are continuing to focus on the Richmond-MacArthur section.  

This cable replacement work is made possible by Measure RR, which was approved by BART District voters in 2016 and provides $3.5 billion to rebuild the backbone of the system.