BART Manager of Scheduling and Planning John FitzGibbon (BART)
Commentary

Podcast: An Inside Look at BART’s Complex Scheduling Dance

Changes coming in September will revolutionize BART’s schedule by adding a layer of consistency in the timing of trains across all seven days of the week that will be unlike anything BART riders have experienced in the last 50 years. The latest edition of BART’s podcast series “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART” explores what the schedule change means for you and takes an inside look at everything you’ve ever wanted to know about how the schedule is made.

From left to right: INRD Director, Intermodal Operations Dan Corcoran; Director, Bridges and Real Estate Bernie Guerrettaz; and Supervisor, Maintenance of Way Doug Guyer.

People News: INRD, TriMet

The Indiana Rail Road Company (INRD) has promoted Dan Corcoran to Director, Intermodal Operations and is realigning its Engineering Department. Also, Mark Dorn joins TriMet as Executive Director.

The Trial Running testing phase is the final series of testing before Honolulu's rail system goes into operation.

Transit Briefs: HART, Metra, Oregon Metro, MBTA, Metrolinx, TTC, CTA, MDOT MTA, VTA-BART

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit (HART) announces Trial Running testing phase for the first segment of Honolulu’s rail system. Also, Metra adds service on its Union Pacific Northwest (UP-NW) Line and capacity on Metra Electric for Bike the Drive; Oregon Metro seeks proposals for 2023 Regional Transportation Plan community partnerships; Gov. Charlie Baker says Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Orange Line “on track” to finish on time; Metrolinx’s GO Train service to Niagara Falls continues year-round; The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) increases service as more customers return to transit; Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) “Ask CTA” program to foster engagement with customers; The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) brings real-time train arrival information to Light Rail; and innovative design suggestions surface for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Extension Phase II project.

The independent Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee’s new annual report says through March 2022, $1.26 billion in Measure RR funds were invested in a total of 150 BART projects. Measure RR is now in its fifth year of what is expected to be a 20-year lifespan of work. (Photograph Courtesy of BART)

Report: More Active BART Projects Than Ever

There are now more rebuilding projects happening across the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) than at any point in the District’s 50-year-history despite the continuing impacts of the global pandemic.

On Sept. 12, 2022, the MBTA will launch a new, year-long pilot to test interest in weekday Commuter Rail service to Foxboro.

Transit Briefs: MBTA, CTA, BART, Amtrak, MDOT, RTD

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) Foxboro Weekday Commuter Rail Service Pilot is scheduled to begin Sept. 12. Also, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) signs contract for new K-9 teams to be deployed across rail system; Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) commemorates its 50th anniversary with vintage arcade games; Amtrak breaks ground on two Americans with Disabilities (ADA) station upgrade projects and celebrates the completion of another; Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and head of Amtrak take train tour to see what needs to be done to bring Springfield’s rail lines back; Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) will ramp up activities on the Purple Line project; and the Regional Transportation District (RTD) selects Dr. Joel Fitzgerald Sr. as Chief of Police and Emergency Management.

Metro's Fairview Heights K Line Station will provide the Inglewood community with a new rail connection to the city’s affordable and supportive housing, key entertainment venues and Metro’s 5.5-mile pedestrian and bicycle path now under construction.

Transit Briefs: LA Metro, BART, St. Louis Metro Transit, MTI

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) holds dedication ceremony for K Line’s Fairview Heights Station in Inglewood. Also, art installation at Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) Warm Springs/Fremont Station captures beauty of station’s surroundings; Metro Transit in St. Louis, Mo., announces that service is returning on MetroLink’s Blue Line; and Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) issues new study regarding the changing patterns of violence on public transport.

Brightline and contractor Kaufman Lynn on Aug. 16 hosted a “topping off” ceremony for the passenger rail system’s Boca Raton station and parking garage, signifying completion of structural work. (Photograph Courtesy of Brightline)

Transit Briefs: BART, Brightline, Metra, St. Louis Metro Transit

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) shares how it uses earthquake early warning technology. Also, work progresses on Brightline’s Boca Raton, Fla., station, the fourth in the state for the private-sector passenger railroad; elementary and high school students in the Chicago area can ride Metra commuter rail and Pace buses for free on Aug. 22; and Metro Transit in St. Louis, Mo., is reporting that it will be “several months” before light rail service is fully restored due to flash flooding damage last month.

Actor Will Smith with BART employees on-set of “The Pursuit of Happyness” in 2005. (Caption and Photograph Courtesy of BART)

50 Years of BART: Behind-the-Scenes Movie Filming

There’s an early scene in 2006 hit film “The Pursuit of Happyness” in which Chris Gardner, played by Will Smith, races to catch a San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train with the bone density scanner he’s hawking. Gardner makes it on the train, but the doors slam shut on his hand that holds the prized scanner.

The Sound Transit Board on July 28 identified the preferred light rail route and station locations for the West Seattle Link Extension after weighing community priorities, regional needs, input from agencies and the city of Seattle, and Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analysis. (Photograph Courtesy of Sound Transit)

Transit Briefs: Sound Transit, BART, Brightline, Metra, NYCT

The Sound Transit Board has confirmed the preferred alternative for the West Seattle (Wash.) Link Extension and approved free fares for riders who under 19 years old. Also, San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) has reinstituted a face-mask requirement; Brightline, Florida’s private-sector passenger railroad, is testing trains along a portion of its Orlando extension, slated to open in 2023; Chicago’s Metra is upgrading the historic Blue Island Vermont St. Station; and a new cohort of MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) train conductors has graduated.

Bah Bah BART: Grazing Goats Are Back, Reducing Fire Danger

Editor’s Note: In another rather offbeat story, Bay Area Rapid Transit employs goats for brush cutting and “lawn maintenance” on some portions of its right-of-way prone to trackside fire. We thought this rather innovative use of natural resources would grab your attention, not get your goat. — William C. Vantuono

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