Community Celebrates Opening of BART to Antioch Extension
[This post is adapted from a web story on MTC's site.]
A ribbon-cutting celebration was held Friday, May 26, for BART’s newest addition, the BART to Antioch extension.
Elected officials and BART representatives joined hundreds of community members for the ceremony outside of the new Antioch Station, one day before the official start of the clean, modern and fast service, which relies on Diesel Multiple Units, or DMU train cars. After the ceremony, guests were treated to free rides on the new line.
“East County residents now have an environmentally friendly, comfortable and state-of-the-art commute option,” said BART Director Joel Keller, who serves East Contra Costa County and is among the local leaders who were instrumental in getting the extension built. “The BART to Antioch extension will carry as many people as an additional lane of Highway 4 and will reduce vehicle miles traveled by 99 million per year.” The extension is predicted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 260,000 pounds a day.
Keep reading on to find out more about this exciting development in regional transportation. Read More