A Car 1243

Location: West Oakland Station, Oakland, CA
Operator of Vehicle: BART
Date of Photo: January 11, 2006

Late last month, BART announced that its legacy fleet will no longer be used in regularly scheduled service as of September 11, 2023.  Incidentally, this is also the 51st anniversary of the opening of the first BART of segment between MacArthur and Fremont.  The legacy BART fleet consists of three car types, two of which currently remain in service.  The A and B cars were manufactured by Rohr (same company that manufactured the 1000 Series cars for WMATA) and remain in service.  The A cars are cab cars noted for their sleek slanted fronts, though this design created a number of operational constraints that led to some cars being converted into B cars, which do not have an operators cab and could only operate in the middle of trains (though they do have a hostler control for use in yards and other emergency situations).  BART rectified this by ordering what became known as the C cars from Alstom and Morrison-Knudsen.  These cars had operator cabs but could also be placed in the middle of a train consist.  Unlike the A and B cars, the C cars were never refurbished and all of them have been removed from service.  

In 2012, BART announced that it was procuring a “Fleet of the Future” to replace the legacy fleet.  The Fleet of the Future began revenue service in 2018.  As a result of the changed ridership patterns during the recovery from the pandemic, BART has determined it no longer needs the Legacy Fleet to maintain the schedule that takes effect today.  However, some Legacy Fleet cars remain available for use in the event of any rolling stock shortages or to provide excess capacity during special events.

Most of the legacy BART cars are being scrapped and recycled, but eight proposals for preserving the cars have been accepted by the agency.  You can read about those proposals here.  

For more photos of BART’s Legacy Fleet, please click here.  

BART “C Car” 432

Location: Embarcadero Station, San Francisco, CA
Operator of Vehicle: Bay Area Rapid Transit
Date of Photo: January 9, 2006

Yet another American rapid transit system is receiving new rolling stock.  BART’s “fleet of the future” entered service back on January 19, 2018.  Similar to the fleet renewal program underway in Miami, upon delivery and acceptance of the new “D Cars” and “E Cars” between now and 2022, the existing fleet of A Cars, B Cars, and C Cars, including the C Car pictured here, will be retired.  BART’s initial rolling stock was revolutionary.  BART ordered trains that are wider and sleeker than most of their American counterparts at the time.  The D Cars and E Cars will also introduce new features to BART’s rolling stock, including places for commuters to store their bikes while on board the train, as well as other ideas suggested by customers.  While the retirement of the A Cars and B Cars will mark the end of Rohr Industries built trains running on American subway systems, it will also be the start of the D Cars’ and E Cars’ opportunity to create their own stories in the hearts and minds of passengers and transit fans as they start their careers.  What sorts of things do you think new trains ought to feature these days?

For more photos of BART rolling stock, please click here.