The long-awaited expansion of regional rail service into eastern Contra Costa County is (almost) finally here: this Saturday, May 26, the BART to Antioch extension will open for service, giving commuters more travel options and relieving congestion on Highway 4. A community ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the new Antioch Station on Friday, May 25, 2018 at 11 a.m. to celebrate this major milestone.
As can be seen in the above video, the new trains are convenient, quiet and fast. From the BART to Antioch page on BART’s website:
The new service between the Pittsburg/Bay Point Station and Antioch is 10 miles long, adds two new stations, and provides much needed congestion relief on State Route 4.
The extension will use a different type of train called a Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU). These trains are state-of-the art, clean, and comfortable. They are environmentally friendly, meet the US Government’s strictest emissions standards, and use renewable diesel, an advanced biofuel produced from bio-based sources such as vegetable oil.
The DMUs run on their own tracks in the median of State Route 4 and connect with the existing BART system at a Transfer Platform just east of the Pittsburg Bay Point Station. At the Transfer Platform, riders simply exit one train and walk across the platform to board the other train. BART passengers trying to reach the Pittsburg Center Station or the Antioch Station will remain in the BART train to reach the Transfer Platform. The Transfer Platform is only reachable by train.
Two new stations at Railroad Avenue in Pittsburg and Hillcrest Avenue in Antioch will use ticket vending machines and fare gates like those in the rest of the BART system.
Rendering of eBART Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU).
MTC provided some $150 million in funding for the $502 million eBART project, which was built in tandem with the Highway 4 widening project from Pittsburg to Antioch.
For more information about the project, visit the East Contra Costa BART Extension (eBART) page on MTC’s website or visit the East Contra Costa BART Extension FAQ on BART’s website. For more information about the ribbon-cutting ceremony, see the news article, BART to Antioch Service to kick off with community celebration, on BART’s website.
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