BART track shutdown–Buses replace trains for 10 weekends in 2022

Original plans for a light rail extension running through San Jose might be scratched.

BART

A large BART construction project is now underway in southern Alameda County.

Crews are replacing critical track components between the South Hayward and Union City BART stations as well as beginning preliminary work to create a storage facility at the Hayward Maintenance Complex for hundreds of new Fleet of the Future cars. 

Crews made significant progress on upgrading the BART trackway between South Hayward and Union City in 2021. Accomplishments of the BART work team include:

• Laid 1,500 feet of new rail
• Replaced outdated wooden rail ties with 300 more reliable concrete versions
• Placed 400 tons of new rock ballast to improve track stability
• Installed 670 feet of electric third rail to enhance power reliability for trains

Upcoming construction will build off last year’s successfully completed work. The project will require a series of non-consecutive weekend track shutdowns between South Hayward and Union City. On those weekends, free buses instead of trains will carry passengers between those two stations. There will be no train service between South Hayward and Union City on the following weekends:

• April 16-17
• April 30-May 1
• May 14-15
• May 28-30 (Memorial Day weekend)
• June 11-12
• July 16-17
• July 30-31
• August 13-14
• September 3-5 (Labor Day weekend)
• September 17-18

On all these weekends free buses will replace trains and riders should plan to add 20-25 minutes to their trips. The work will require some late-night train cancellations on shutdown weekends.

On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays impacted by shutdowns the last train of the night that normally leaves Berryessa Station at 11:49 pm will be cancelled. Passengers traveling northbound must catch the earlier train at 11:19 pm.

BART is targeting stretches of track way in the system that are in the greatest need of replacement and prioritizing work on those sections. This critical work will replace nearly 50-year-old track infrastructure. Many of these aging track components have been in operation since the beginning of BART service in 1972 and have outlived their design lives. Funding for the track replacement work is coming from voter-approved Measure RR.  Funding for the new rail car storage facility is provided in part by a $1.17 billion grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The storage facility is part of the Transbay Corridor Core Capacity Program, which will dramatically increase the number of trains BART can run through the Transbay Tube.

Neighbors can expect construction on or near BART track way and the operation of construction equipment with lights on nights throughout the duration of the work. Part of the project will involve the construction of a retaining wall.  The equipment used for this part of the project installs the piles for the wall by vibrating the piles into the ground. This has the potential to create significant noise at the work site.

Once complete, a decrease in the noise level from trains can be expected.  BART passengers should experience a smoother, safer, and more reliable ride.  The new rail car facility will bolster BART’s service to San Jose as well as help to ensure BART is maximizing the number of Fleet of the Future trains in operation.

Work on track way improvements and the Hayward Maintenance Complex will continue into next year with a series of weekend track shutdowns expected between Union City and Fremont in 2023. Dates for those shutdowns have not yet been finalized.

More information is available in BART’s Frequenty Asked Questions section for this project.