BART “Fast Track” brochure - 1993
In 1993 BART was really serious about getting into the commuter rail business. This brochure outlines the reasons and proposed routes at the time.
Regarding these proposed commuter rail routes:
•Suisun City-Oakland – Demo train ran for a week in September 1993. Nothing became of it. Today (2018), this route is part of Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor, used by commuters (which by the way was already operating in 1993 when the commuter demos ran).
•Brentwood-Oakland – Demo train rail for a week in September 1993. Nothing became of it. Today (2018), a BART diesel light rail extension is under construction from BART’s Pittsburg/Bay Point station to Antioch (in the median of Highway 4). Future plans have the train extending further into Brentwood, but for now, no timeline has been established for construction.
•Oakland-San Jose – Nothing came of this proposal. Was to operate mostly over an old Western Pacific Railroad line to San Jose (by then it was part of Union Pacific). As of 2018, BART has still not reached San Jose. An extension recently opened from Fremont to Warm Springs/South Fremont with another extension due, possibly in 2018, into Milpitas and Berryessa/North San Jose. Ironically, a good deal of this extension is along the old Western Pacific Route. Further extension into the heart of San Jose is expected to open around 2026.
•Stockton-San Jose (Altamont Pass Route) – Something that did happen. This came into existence on October 19, 1998 as Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) (now renamed Altamont Corridor Express). The line terminates at the San Jose Diridon (Cahill St) station, not the Tamien station further south as envisioned in the brochure. Also, this turned-out to be mostly a project of San Joaquin County with funding/assistance from Alameda & Santa Clara Counties; no BART involvement whatsoever.
Other items of note in the overall “proposal map”:
•It shows a BART extension all the way down the Peninsula from San Francisco to San Jose. Not going to happen. BART currently goes as far south as Millbrae and that’s where it will stay. The Caltrain line which covers the distance of the Peninsula has (finally) begun a modernization plan which will bring electrification with new trains, more frequency and an eventual extension into downtown San Francisco.
•A BART extension from Richmond to Crockett. Nope. Talked about from time to time but nothing in recent years
•The map is drawn wrong too. Note the commuter rail route to Suisun City shows extending northward from Crockett. It actually extends northward from Martinez (across the Suisun Bay bridge). There is no rail route across the bay from Crockett.
BART “Fast Track” brochure - 1993
In 1993 BART was really serious about getting into the commuter rail business. This brochure outlines the reasons and proposed routes at the time.
Regarding these proposed commuter rail routes:
•Suisun City-Oakland – Demo train ran for a week in September 1993. Nothing became of it. Today (2018), this route is part of Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor, used by commuters (which by the way was already operating in 1993 when the commuter demos ran).
•Brentwood-Oakland – Demo train rail for a week in September 1993. Nothing became of it. Today (2018), a BART diesel light rail extension is under construction from BART’s Pittsburg/Bay Point station to Antioch (in the median of Highway 4). Future plans have the train extending further into Brentwood, but for now, no timeline has been established for construction.
•Oakland-San Jose – Nothing came of this proposal. Was to operate mostly over an old Western Pacific Railroad line to San Jose (by then it was part of Union Pacific). As of 2018, BART has still not reached San Jose. An extension recently opened from Fremont to Warm Springs/South Fremont with another extension due, possibly in 2018, into Milpitas and Berryessa/North San Jose. Ironically, a good deal of this extension is along the old Western Pacific Route. Further extension into the heart of San Jose is expected to open around 2026.
•Stockton-San Jose (Altamont Pass Route) – Something that did happen. This came into existence on October 19, 1998 as Altamont Commuter Express (ACE) (now renamed Altamont Corridor Express). The line terminates at the San Jose Diridon (Cahill St) station, not the Tamien station further south as envisioned in the brochure. Also, this turned-out to be mostly a project of San Joaquin County with funding/assistance from Alameda & Santa Clara Counties; no BART involvement whatsoever.
Other items of note in the overall “proposal map”:
•It shows a BART extension all the way down the Peninsula from San Francisco to San Jose. Not going to happen. BART currently goes as far south as Millbrae and that’s where it will stay. The Caltrain line which covers the distance of the Peninsula has (finally) begun a modernization plan which will bring electrification with new trains, more frequency and an eventual extension into downtown San Francisco.
•A BART extension from Richmond to Crockett. Nope. Talked about from time to time but nothing in recent years
•The map is drawn wrong too. Note the commuter rail route to Suisun City shows extending northward from Crockett. It actually extends northward from Martinez (across the Suisun Bay bridge). There is no rail route across the bay from Crockett.