BART Subway Trains in California's San Francisco Bay Area

Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART for short, has been carrying riders around the San Francisco Bay Area since 1972. The operation is unique in many ways, including everything from its iconic aluminum subway cars to the 5 foot 6 inch broad gauge track system, a one of a kind for North America. September of 2022 marks 50 years of BART service. To commemorate this special occasion, I decided to put together a video showcasing BART trains - my first subway video in over seven years on the channel. Other than station platforms, the system has very few locations where the trains can be seen in action, posing an interesting challenge for this video. Most suitable locations are on the east side of San Francisco Bay, and that will be the focus of our exploration of BART. We will see the new Bombardier and Alstom built subway cars as well as the original "Legacy Fleet", which is in the process of being retired.
This video was made possible by my supporters on Patreon
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CoasterFan2105 is the home of all sorts of train and railroad related video content. Stop by every Friday at 9 AM Pacific time for an all new railroading adventure and be sure to check out all of my social media pages @coasterfan2105 for even more great railroad content. Thanks, and I'll see you down the line!
©2022 Mike Armstrong Media

[@nelskrogh3238]

I was living in Concord when they were building BART. It was originally designed to include more areas than it ended up serving although it was later expanded. The thing to realize about BART is that it is more of a commuter system than a city subway system (like London or NYC). It delivers people from the suburbs to the metro area and does a pretty decent job in that regard. If you actually need to get around the metro areas service is very limited.

[@inferno7169]

I mean your not wrong Bart is kind of like the metro north railway we’re it is a commuter service and it’s third rail powered.

[@TohaBgood2]

This is changing though. They are set to significantly increase BART's frequency with new train control and new rolling stock. The capacity of the trains themselves is also increasing. So at least from a frequency standpoint, BART will feel a lot more like a typical subway in the core system and much less like commuter rail in the spurs. Also, the SF Muni Metro is embarking on some upgrades to make that system feel a lot more like a rapid transportation system too. There's going to be a new north-south tunnel, again new train control to improve frequencies, more level boarding stations, and a lot more grade separation and traffic priority. So at least from the point of view of the riders in the core BART system (SF-Oakland-Berkeley) the whole rapid rail system will feel a lot more like a true subway. More potential rail trips will become viable and you'll be able to do them faster and in more comfort. Caltrain is also about to get 15-minute frequencies, fast accelerating electric trains, and level boarding. But that's disconnected from Muni and Bart in SF until 2029-2030 when they finally finish the tunnel to downtown SF. This will essentially extend subway-like service to the southern part of SF and all the way down the peninsula. Should be a pretty cool rail system once everything that's currently in the pipeline is built and operational.

[@alsneed309]

BART is a cancer that won't stop spreading. We get endless billion-dollar extensions down freeway medians instead of real regional rail along existing routes.

[@AlexCab_49]

@@TohaBgood2 Thank goodness I'm moving to SF for University next year (hopefully)!

[@kenmills4739]

​@@inferno7169 No, Metro• North Railroad is a commuter railroad: there IS 3rd rail capacity because of electric multiple unit trains, BUT there are diesel powered trains that operate further out, and a great portion of trains also operate with overhead catenary wiring as well because of shared trackage space with Amtrak; New Jersey Transit is completely overhead operated on some lines also because of shared trackage space with Amtrak while some lines go for themselves anyway as the remainder operates as diesel powered routes, now that's what you call railroading with many different flavors; Long Island Railroad is the same way with electric multiple unit trains (3rd rail capacity) and diesel powered trains. However, the electric multiple unit trains CAN pass for rapid transit styled trains due to the picture windows and doors.

[@rms492]

BART is so cool… 8-10 car trains, semi-automated, wide gauge, the tube under the bay, and has proven its success. All built in early 70s.

[@TohaBgood2]

Well, not all built in the early 70s. The first line opened in the early-ish 70s. But BART has been adding a major expansion every 5-10 years since. In 2020 they opened the latest extension to San Jose, and they're already working on a further expansion to downtown San Jose and further into Santa Clara. There's also talk of a few other marjor expansions. A second Transbay tube has been a longtime dream and is moving through planning. They also want to eventually build a second line crossing SF from the south-east to the north-west. There are also planned extensions to conventional-rail BART extensions east from the Antioch and from the Dublin-Pleasanton terminus stations. BART never really stopped growing and the full original dream of BART service all around the Bay Area is still a work in progress. There are a lot of lines that were on the original BART "dream map" from the 1960s that are still to be built.

[@kristainviayoutube500]

@@TohaBgood2despite everything BART is such a cool system.

[@Noblemarq12]

I remember riding this as a kid in the early 80's. Get on at the Concord station, ride it into San Francisco, an back. Was a great way to waste a Saturday, on the cheap

[@3henry214]

LOL... I used to do the same thing or you could hop on in Concord, and then at one of the Oakland transfer stations, take one of the legs to Richmond, Fremont or San Francisco/Daly City. As long as one didn't exit a station turnstile, you could ride back and forth all over the system on the one fare. One of the neat things about the Richmond BART station is that it is also an Amtrak station, where the Capitol Corridor, San Joaquin and California Zephyr trains can be boarded. I did a great "railfan" day trip by taking BART to Richmond, then boarded an Amtrak Capitol Corridor train to Sacramento, and went to the California State Railroad Museum.

[@Noblemarq12]

@@3henry214 exactly, was a great way to waste the weekend as a kid

[@tankman_tv9332]

@@Noblemarq12 i do that on the weekends with my friend, but its usually south of union city because im too scared to go to oakland and get mugged by a crackhead

[@Noblemarq12]

@@tankman_tv9332 yea never got off in Oakland, even in the 80's was too scared of being mugged

[@DNP_10]

About the last thing I expected from this channel was a video dedicated to BART, seeing as the videos here don't tend to feature subway trains. I was pleasantly surprised by this video! Absolutely love BART, so this was an interesting video to see your own spin on filming the San Francisco Bay Area's subway.

[@Obi_Wan_Kenobi_027]

Whenever I’ve had the displeasure of being stuck in Bay Area traffic I always think “Damn, I should of took BART!” It’s even worse when your going a measly 5 miles per hour and a train flies by at 50+

[@ryalexstudios]

2:53 Funny hearing those tiny little "toot toot" horns and not "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNKKKKKKKKK"

[@CoasterFan2105]

Yeah, it's definitely something different!

[@yoyobass100]

I always viewed the BART trains as a West Coast counterpart of the ATL MARTA and DC Metro because they are all similar in design and some of America's modern subways.

[@TohaBgood2]

In fact, BART and the DC Metro are sister systems. With BART coming first, and being the definitive space-age metro designed by aerospace companies, BART actually inspired a lot of the trends that you see in the America's modern subways. BART was the first system to be fully ADA accessible throughout. It was among the first to allow passengers to move between cars. It was also extremely auto-focused at the beginning with almost 100% of the expected riders having a provisioned parking space at all the stations outside of the ""Core BART System" - the job-heavy downtowns in SF, Oakland, and Berkeley. This is now changing with BART basically filling in the massive parking lots with housing and office development. But at the beginning BART was a lot more of a high-speed commuter hybrid line than it is today.

[@jerrydavis3548]

it is way better Atlanta mart the Atlanta mart gose no way and the Atlanta be empty even doing rush hour

[@1044fan]

It's very impressive to see the BART in the middle of the highway 👍🏻 Greetings from Austria 🇦🇹

[@yoyobass100]

The BART isn't the only subway that travels along highway medians in the States. There is also: - The Chicago L (Red and Blue Lines and first to ever do so) - The Atlanta MARTA (Red Line) - SEPTA MFL in Philly (only on a small portion) - The Baltimore Metro SubwayLink - DC Metro (Orange and Silver Lines and the most I've ridden in my life)

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

I've never seen a subway system set up like this. Great video as usual! If you ever film more of Trimet Max Light Rail in Portland Oregon in the future, Could you possibly upload a video on that? I see them all the time

[@gdrriley420]

Its a weird hybrid of a metro and a regional rail system, closest term would be a S-Bahn in Germany.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! If I do, I will!

[@mijicalmagiemance8014]

when is trains in California coming

[@TohaBgood2]

Interesting! The new Bombardier trains really are a lot quieter even than the old cars with new re-profiled wheels. I thought that this might be mostly due to the better soundproofing, but it seems to be true even from the outside.

[@thealmightydoge5653]

Never in a million years have I ever thought you would ever film a subway-related video

[@CoasterFan2105]

I did one a while ago, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to do a second one!

[@Tanknuggets217]

It’s not a subway

[@TohaBgood2]

@@Tanknuggets217 Depends on where you live and where/how you use the system. In the "Core BART System" in SF-Oakland-Berkeley it's basically identical to a subway. Trains come about every 3-4 minutes. The system is mostly underground. The stations are completely urban with no parking and mostly highrise housing and office development. BART is extremely heavily interlined with most of the lines converging in that core section of the system. So you get access to multiple lines going in different directions from there. If you live in the outlying areas where frequencies are only every 7-8 minutes, or every 15 minutes at the ends of the various spurs, then it can feel more like a very high quality regional train or commuter train. But even there BART is very similar to a conventional subway. Now that BART is upgrading the system to almost halve frequencies to about 2 minutes it will be very hard to argue that it's not a subway-like service throughout. Most of the system will feel a lot more like a subway to the vast majority of riders.

[@Tanknuggets217]

@@TohaBgood2 it’s called rapid transit for a reason my dude. B.A.R.T Bay. Area. Rapid. Transit. NOT BAS Bay. Area. Subway.

[@TohaBgood2]

@@Tanknuggets217 All subways are Rail Rapid Transit! That's literally the definition of a subway. Most "subway" systems have the majority of their track above ground. Is the London Underground not a subway? How about the Tokyo metro? Also not a subway? BART, like all metro systems or what we call a "subway system" in the US, has both above and below ground sections. The vast majority of BART's ridership is generated in the core of the system where BART actually runs underground in the Downtown areas of SF-Oakland-Berkeley. The reason why we call all metro systems "subways" in the US is because our largest system is the NY Subway and that is the system of reference for most Americans. But even it has 40% of track its above ground with the majority of the track outside of Manhattan being above ground, just like BART! Subway in the core where it is strictly necessary, elevated everywhere else!

[@WMAC_Master]

glad you could film this unique train line!

[@RandomRailfan828]

Another great one Mike! Cool subway System and how they have been stout for over 50 years!

[@TranscontinentalRailfan]

Awesome video! Another subway system to check out is Washington, DC’s Metro/WMATA.

[@TohaBgood2]

Yep, BART's Eastern Twin! People say you even used to be able to use the old magstrip tickets from BART on the WMATA in the very beginning. Lots of common engineering in these two systems.

[@291281]

Great subway trains video CoasterFan2105

[@gabrieloverfield5361]

I remember this one. That was a good memory train.

[@underseaowl7440]

This is so cool seeing my home area on your channel, some of these shots are less than a mile from my house :)

[@Tipman2OOO]

Sick right Me Too! I didn't even think of these videos until it just popped up on my page

[@01hotbone]

It's great to be a rail fan as well as a operator for this system, and recognize mostly all filming locations, except 1:53 - 2:03 my guess it's somewhere on the concord line out side of Pleasant Hill, sometimes you don't have a view of what you travel under. Great video keep them coming 👍

[@95brickhaus14]

Grew up on the Coaster, now transit on BART

[@SpotterCrazyperson]

Nice subway trains!

[@kevp9601]

Happy Last Day of September 2022, Mister Mike Armstrong ! !

[@HarborSubHughley]

Fantastic video Mike

[@CoasterFan2105]

Many thanks!

[@HarborSubHughley]

@@CoasterFan2105 no problem

[@ADpre]

This is a great video! Before I moved to Portland Oregon I was living in sacramento, and sometimes I just go on Bart instead of car because Bart is much better , it is good here, but I wish there was something like Bart in the Portland area, that would made Oregon much better

[@kevp9601]

Good Afternoon, Mister Mike Armstrong ! !

[@kevp9601]

I just ❤ Trains The Most

[@Kelly19850302]

My two-year-old son love watching this video.

[@EdCadena]

Beautifully done 👍👍

[@dougaustin2689]

That was different and fun.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks, Doug! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

Cool video of the subway trains from your area of the country. We enjoyed watching and have a great rest of your day.(Steve)

[@slycat1939]

Awesome video love your videos. Sharing to my train group who loves them too. Tyvm for sharing with us. God bless.

[@firstdictonary]

I was just wondering if you would do a video in the Bay Area yesterday. Granted, it was about Caltrain but this will do just fine.

[@CoasterFan2105]

I did a CalTrain video last year, but there may be other Bay Area videos soon!

[@natejackson8213]

Good one Mike! I rode on Bart trains before

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks, Nate! They're neat subway trains.

[@kevp9601]

Happy Friday ! !

[@coolleo149]

Wow I never new you saw some of those trains! Epic!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you!

[@coolleo149]

@@CoasterFan2105 no problem my man!

[@noremfor]

I'm gonna miss the older trains

[@graphtonix6607]

HO Scale models of the BART train cars are now going to be made.❤❤❤❤❤😀😀😀😀😀😊😊😊😊

[@kevp9601]

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Trains are Awesome! 🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂

[@evanstonbalce9588]

There’s a walkway over the tracks at the north end of Daly City station, it is a pretty good spot to record BART trains arriving at and departing the station

[@PineTreeProductions]

Im not from california but are those new or have these been in service for a while? Also great video!

[@kalenc515]

I’m from the Bay Area and yes. BART has been around since the late 1960s- early 1970s. There are new models being used and replacing the old ones if that is what you are talking about.

[@PineTreeProductions]

@@kalenc515 yes, that clears things up a bit.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Both the new and the old cars are shown in this video. The older cars are the ones with horizontal blue stripes that run the length of the car. They were mostly built in the early 1970s with some built in the late 80s and early 90s. All are scheduled to be retired by the end of next year.

[@DNP_10]

The new cars (which have 3 doors on the sides) entered service in January 2018. The old cars (which have 2 doors on the sides) have been around since the system opened, but were rebuilt at some point.

[@JDsHouseofHobbies]

I was standing in the Powell Street BART Station in SF on the 24 after an event and feeling the air the train was pushing ahead of it blow through the station.

[@PrincessAmtrakMinamoto]

Cool video with Bart subway train. 🙂👍🏻❤️💖

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@kevp9601]

Amazing

[@kevp9601]

Stupendous

[@SoCalOCRailfan]

Great video Mike!!

[@kevp9601]

Exquisite

[@horny99845]

Thanks!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks so much!

[@jackongames6005]

After Amtrak’s 50th anniversary its bart train 50th anniversary

[@wooowallllright]

You filmed right near where I live! I’m in between the Lafayette and Walnut Creek stations

[@kevp9601]

Magnificent

[@wolfgangpfeilergartenbahnd6530]

An Interesting Train and Greatly Filmed.

[@maymayandajjackson7349]

The old BART is better looking than the new one.the old one looks cooler.

[@garbagetruck2186]

coaster fan I love you so much you’re the best you’re the best you tuber in the whole world

[@Rdfj66]

This reminds me on Vancouver skytrain system the sounds are similar and most of the track on bart's system its elevated just like the Vancouver skytrain btw i just found this video and its awesome

[@transmamabear]

My BFF told me to watch this and WOW🤯🤯🥳

[@Francoraptor2018]

Great metro dude!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@r.a.mancillas812]

Bart is loud noisy and non-standard width but its ours, (BayArea), its is now coming to the southbay and will be coming to downtown San Jose in the next few years.

[@TohaBgood2]

They're working on getting rid of that screeching noise. The new cars have better wheel profiles so they're a lot more quiet overall. They also have much better soundproofing.

[@LEGOland7550]

Thank you

[@cakdebyrailfans]

Fantastic video my friend👍

[@RailwayVideos.]

Excellent shots of the subway trains

[@jamallhayden2512]

Thank You

[@SD40-2]

Amazing video dude

[@ryansrailfanningproduction9267]

Nice video mike! Is it possible you could film tourist trains at the Southern California Railway Museum? It’s in Perris CA a little more than an hours worth of driving north on the I-15 from San Diego CA, and it has tons, and I mean tons of vintage rolling stock. It also has 2 of the Siemens U2 Trolley cars formerly used on the San Diego Trolley, both operational. I went there in April of this year, and it was amazing. Got to ride in one of their tourist trains, get a behind the scenes look around the area, got to see and go on vintage equipment stored indoors in their shops, and got to meet a few railfans too! Overall, I recommend this tourist line as it’s one of the best ones I’ve been to.

[@kevp9601]

Classic

[@taslimchoudhary1253]

Nice Train Video ☘️👍🇮🇳👍☘️

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@marcusarline2172]

Excellent

[@osmanhossain676]

I love BART in Santa Clara.

[@svtrains4773]

Interesting video clip! 👍🏻🖖🏻

[@rhettrossalbert]

Nice video Mike!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you, Rhett!

[@trendygaming795]

Wait i didn't know your real name was Mike @CoasterFan2105

[@Sheldon_Busologia_D]

wow the subways good video ❤️

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you!

[@Sheldon_Busologia_D]

@@CoasterFan2105 your welcome!

[@northpennvalleysteamrailroad]

Nice!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@joseyepez7633]

i when on that trains when my school fifth grade when on a school field trip.

[@IllBeStamped]

After hearing about this in Railfan & Railroad, I was like: I gotta capture some footage before they switch to Fleet of the Future cars forever! Thanks for this!! It is really cool! I hope to railfan here in November. By the way, how much file size do your video take up? My average for super high settings is about 1GB/10 seconds. Also, are you do you have Railfan & Railroad magazine? Also, what are some of the locations of these filming spots?

[@derrickwong5337]

Excellent!!! Happy 50th Anniversary for Coasterfan2105!!!!🚇

[@joelvanwinkle5976]

I like how the embaucadero station looks like the lsia station from gta 5

[@jonbowlerbowler7366]

I Love The Bart Train I Take The Bart Train Sometimes

[@Minecraftganer101]

What music is using that 1-hour view plus 50 trains video what song is it

[@osmanhossain676]

BART is coming to Santa Clara by 2030.😮

[@jasonpenny6131]

Can you do a train talk video on Metrolink past present and future?

[@osmanhossain676]

I want BART in Santa Clara.

[@volaris3583]

Ok the first train is the one I have seen so Many times

[@kevp9601]

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner For Very Very Divine

[@teddyguerrero1235]

Cool video! I don’t think there are any railroad crossings where BART trains go through, right?

[@TohaBgood2]

You mean at grade BART crossings? No, BART is a completely grade separated system with almost all its track mileage either elevated or in subways.

[@veritasinvicta2996]

Looks similar to the NY/NJ Path Trains.

[@Perich29]

Its truely a Bay Area people mover.

[@Caltrain120]

12:06 is that Capitol Corridor in the background?

[@killerbees177]

Are those M3s?

[@jtrailfan9150]

Where was the scene at 1:56 filmed?

[@RageFish_1]

I live in the Pleasant Hill Concord area

[@isaiahplayz6358]

this video should be renamed to "bart yellow, and green line trains)

[@Interstate107]

4:36 where is this at

[@LAVAMONKEYBOY1234]

I want them to do a toy train glore 6

[@johnnydodd9919]

I don't want to offend anyone but I'm not from the bay area and just wondering what does Bart stand for

[@CoasterFan2105]

Bay Area Rapid Transit

[@PaulPavlinovich]

Ah BART where everything about it is different to every other railroad. I enjoyed my time working with them.

[@TohaBgood2]

Except WMATA! And the Paris RER. And the REM. And a few more copycat commuter/subway hybrids in Asia and elsewhere. But yes, very unique system.

[@NewYorkerSaif]

Bart Simpson trains if you ask me.

[@mijicalmagiemance8014]

hey Mike can you make a vid at Bob hope airport train station since your in California and by the way at night like 10 PM to 1 am freight trains pass but it's a secret I'm not going to spoil it you will see the freight train

[@임진영]

🙂👍

[@kevp9601]

Certified Fresh Vanilla Cakes For Very Very Stupendous 🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂

[@ianphillips1455]

Ride the rails underground

[@daniellojtek]

Fantastic camera shots. Thanks for shareing video my friend and i invite You on my channel about my h0 model layout in free time and have a great Day 😃

[@uzin0s256]

Use this everyday. Sure it might have lots of crimes but the job of it is to to get you from place to place.