It looks like BART is aiming at accommodating commute-time crush loads in the fashion of some northeastern-city subway-train systems, by getting rid of seats and opening up floor space. Going from 2 doors on each side to 3 doors also fits in with this approach.
I found that and some other interesting stuff at BART's
Projects page.
They are starting some earthquake-safety efforts, the first of which is
to disassemble their old headquarters building at Lake Merritt= as seismically risky. From the looks of it, they will try to salvage some of the building's heavy machinery, such as the ventilation and elevator systems.
West Dublin-Pleasanton construction continues, the
Wikipedia article on the station (yes, Wikipedia has an article on every BART station) has
a nice picture of the under-construction station. Its concourse is a big box above the station platform and the tracks, and in the picture, its framework is likely done while its walls are only partially done.
BART's Walnut-Creek / Pleasant-Hill crossover is still in the planning stage; it will make it easier for trains to run only part of the way into Contra Costa County. That and similar projects have been for correcting some deficiencies in the original design. BART's original designers had supposedly expected their system to be so reliable that they decided against putting sidings into it, which was an awful blunder.
BART still seems committed to its
eBART extension from Pittsburg / BayPoint to Antioch. It will involve a DMU vehicles and a cross-platform transfer at PBP, and it may eventually be extended further to Oakley or Brentwood.
However, BART has backed away from similar DMU plans to Livermore, instead opting for
full-scale BART to there. BART"s planners have been examining some 14 alignment alternatives, as shown in
this map (1-MB PDF). These include:
- 5 alignments through the quarry area or around it to Stanley Blvd. and Isabel Ave., on the west edge of Livermore
- 2 alignments into central Livermore, ending at the Livermore Transit Center, following either the UP line or Portola Ave.
- Las Positas Ave., then the UP line, ending at Vasco Rd.
- Vasco Rd. itself, ending at the UP line
- 4 alignments stopping at Greenville Rd. or a little before it.
All but the first 5 alignments will likely include a station at I-580 and Isabel Ave. in northwestern Livermore.
BART has restarted planning of its
Oakland Airport Connector, an elevated light-rail line from the Oakland Coliseum station to that airport. BART must invite bids by June this year and award a contract by the end of this year to qualify for economic-stimulus funds. These deadlines are presumably for selecting out what's shovel-ready or some reasonable approximation of that state.
The
Warm Springs and
San Jose BART-extension projects are still in planning.