EBART

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Hybrid rail service in Contra Costa County, California

title: "EBART" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bay-area-rapid-transit", "antioch,-california", "bay-point,-california", "brentwood,-california", "california-railroads", "pittsburg,-california", "public-transportation-in-the-san-francisco-bay-area", "railway-lines-in-highway-medians", "railway-lines-opened-in-2018", "standard-gauge-railways-in-the-united-states", "transportation-in-contra-costa-county,-california", "railway-branch-lines", "2018-establishments-in-california"] description: "Hybrid rail service in Contra Costa County, California" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBART" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Hybrid rail service in Contra Costa County, California ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox rail line"]

FieldValue
color
nameeBART
other_nameEast Contra Costa County BART extension
imageWestbound eBART train approaching Pittsburg Center station, May 2018.JPG
image_altA railcar on a rail line in the median of a highway
captionStadler GTW near Pittsburg Center station, May 2018
typeHybrid rail
systemBay Area Rapid Transit
status
localeEast Contra Costa County
startAntioch
endPittsburg/Bay Point
stations3
routes1
daily_ridership()
ridership2()
open
ownerBay Area Rapid Transit District
characterGrade separated in highway median
depotAntioch Maintenance Yard
stock8 Stadler GTW
linelength9.1 mi
tracks2
gauge
speedUp to 75 mph
website
map{{switcher
{{maplink-roadfrom
{{eBARTinline
::

| color = | name = eBART | other_name = East Contra Costa County BART extension | image = Westbound eBART train approaching Pittsburg Center station, May 2018.JPG | image_width = | image_alt = A railcar on a rail line in the median of a highway | caption = Stadler GTW near Pittsburg Center station, May 2018 | type = Hybrid rail | system = Bay Area Rapid Transit | status = | locale = East Contra Costa County | start = Antioch | end = Pittsburg/Bay Point | stations = 3 | routes = 1 | daily_ridership = () | ridership2 = () | open = | owner = Bay Area Rapid Transit District | character = Grade separated in highway median | depot = Antioch Maintenance Yard | stock = 8 Stadler GTW | linelength = 9.1 mi | tracks = 2 | gauge = | speed = Up to 75 mph | website = | map = {{switcher | eBART highlighted in yellow | Show interactive map | | Show route diagram eBART (East Contra Costa County BART extension) is a hybrid rail branch line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in eastern Contra Costa County, California, United States. The line extends the Yellow Line beyond Pittsburg/Bay Point station to Antioch station. The American Public Transportation Association classifies the service as commuter rail.

The break of gauge and the use of diesel power makes the eBART system separate from and incompatible with the main BART rapid transit system. east in the State Route 4 median to the city of Antioch at a Hillcrest Avenue station. The BART map treats this service and the service using standard BART trains as a single line, dubbed the .

History

Development

A feasibility study which completed in 2001 proposed an extension of BART service into eastern Contra Costa County using diesel multiple units (DMU) on standard gauge track in an existing rail right-of-way, to reduce costs compared to full BART service (grade-separated broad-gauge track). Because commercially available DMUs could not meet Federal Railroad Administration crash standards, they would need to be separated from freight rail, either by operating on an exclusive set of tracks or at exclusive times during the day. A key requirement of the extension ensured that broad-gauge BART could be constructed in the future using the new structures that would be built.

Initial plans published in 2002 proposed DMU trains would run in the median of California State Route 4 east of the existing terminus at Pittsburg/Bay Point in an area reserved for BART expansion, then the tracks would cross the freeway via an aerial structure at Loveridge Road in Pittsburg to continue east along the Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way (ROW) for its Tracy Subdivision, also known as the Mococo Line (after the MOuntain COpper COmpany), which runs parallel to and between SR 4 (to the south) and the BNSF Stockton Subdivision (to the north) from Martinez to Oakley. At Oakley, eBART would turn southeast, continuing to follow the ROW of the UPRR Tracy Subdivision, terminating at Byron. The existing freight rail line would be relocated within the right-of-way to accommodate double-track eBART service. At the time, the Mococo Line was largely inactive, used to store freight cars.

The initial proposal also planned to build five stations over a system length of 23 mi, each located near where the Mococo Line crosses the following streets:

  • Somersville Road (Pittsburg/Antioch)
  • Hillcrest Avenue (Antioch)
  • Empire Avenue (Oakley)
  • Central Avenue (Brentwood)
  • Downtown Byron

By 2005, a sixth station had been added in Pittsburg (at Railroad Avenue, in the median of SR 4) and the Somersville Road station had been relocated east to the Antioch Fairgrounds

Finalized plans

After Union Pacific declined to grant trackage rights or allow laying of new tracks, By the time the draft environmental impact report (DEIR) for eBART was published in 2008, the initial proposed phase had been scaled back to two stations, retaining an intermediate stop in Pittsburg (Railroad Ave) and shifting the planned terminus to Antioch (Hillcrest Ave), along with a transfer platform near the existing Pittsburg/Bay Point station; the DEIR also included alternative locations for the Phase I terminal station in Antioch (Hillcrest Ave), which would preserve plans for a planned extension east and south from Antioch along the Mococo Line right-of-way.

Daily ridership was initially projected at 3,900

Alternatives studied included bus rapid transit using dedicated lanes, overhead (catenary) electric light rail vehicles, and standard BART trains. Compared to the proposed $486 million cost to implement eBART with DMUs, a similar BRT service would cost $393–611 M, depending on the options selected; LRV $528 M; and BART $1173 M.

Funding and construction

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/EBART_transfer_platform,_February_2018.JPG" caption="Transfer platform under construction in 2018"] ::

A sales tax increase was approved by Contra Costa voters in 2004 in order to fund the expansion. The expansion was approved by the BART board in April 2009. Costs were set at $463million (equivalent to $ in ), compared to an estimated $1.2billion (equivalent to $ in ) for full BART buildout.

Construction on the line began in early 2011. Construction of the Railroad Avenue station in Pittsburg had been uncertain as planning and construction progressed but it was fully funded by the city in early 2015, and opened in 2018 along with the rest of the extension.

Start of service

Revenue service began on May 26, 2018. Its design and operation, the result of several compromises, were criticized by Streetsblog.

Future

While not fully planned or funded , proposals have been advanced to extend the eBART line to Oakley, Byron, or the Brentwood Transit Center in Brentwood. During the planning phase for Antioch station, it was noted that any potential extension along the median of SR 4 is feasible only to Balfour Road in Brentwood without further widening of the freeway; by acquiring a right-of-way adjacent to the Mococo Line, service could be extended to Laurel Road in Brentwood.

In 2017, the San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission indicated that eBART could be extended to Tracy, where it would connect with the Altamont Corridor Express and the proposed Valley Link line. An extension to Tracy is possible only if rights to share the Mococo Line right-of-way are acquired from UPRR. This would create a transit loop connecting the current eastern termini of the BART Yellow (Pittsburg/Bay Point) and Blue (Dublin/Pleasanton) lines.

Stations

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/EBART_test_DMU_leaving_central_Pittsburg_transfer_point.jpg" caption="Test DMU leaving Pittsburg Center station in the median of Highway 4 at sunset heading east to the Hillcrest Avenue, Antioch terminus"] ::

Main article: List of Bay Area Rapid Transit stations

All eBART stations are in Contra Costa County.

::data[format=table]

StationCityOpenedOther BART lines
AntiochMay 26, 2018
Pittsburg
December 7, 1996
::

Rolling stock

Trains servicing the line include eight Stadler GTW coupled pairs. The first were delivered in June 2016, The Stadler GTW trains are diesel multiple units with 2/6 articulated power units, and are based on models previously used in Austin (CapMetro Rail), Denton (A-train), and New Jersey (River Line).

References

References

  1. "East Contra Costa BART Extension (eBART)".
  2. (30 June 2017). "Local pols get sneak peek at eBART train". The Mercury News.
  3. "BART unveils diesel-powered eBART Antioch extension". KTVU.
  4. "APTA Q3 Ridership Report".
  5. "BART System Facts". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
  6. (September 18, 2012). "BART Official Says eBART Rail Project Set To Open In 2016". [[KCBS (AM).
  7. PBS&J. (September 2008). "East Contra Costa BART Extension Draft EIR". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
  8. Wilbur Smith Associates. (December 12, 2002). "SR 4 East Corridor Transit Study: Summary Report".
  9. Greitzer, John. (September 29, 2008). "Potential reactivation of Mococo freight railroad line". Contra Costa County Department of Conservation & Development.
  10. Maclachlan, Malcolm. (June 23, 2005). "BART eyes new station for little 'ol Byron". Lodi News-Sentinel.
  11. Tribble, Sarah Jane. (November 24, 2005). "Officials fret over eBART parking". Contra Costa Times.
  12. Coetsee, Rowena. (August 5, 2005). "Questions remain over scale of eBART in East County". Contra Costa Times.
  13. Rose, Tanya. (November 18, 2005). "City selects site for eBart station". Contra Costa Times.
  14. Rosen Lum, Rebecca. (February 28, 2006). "Downtown Byron likely to get eBART station". Contra Costa Times.
  15. Phillips, Laurie. (June 8, 2006). "Public weighs in on Pittsburg eBART station plan". Contra Costa Times.
  16. (2005). "eBART at-a-glance 2005". eBART Partnership Policy Advisory committee.
  17. Coetsee, Rowena. (March 24, 2006). "eBART pulls closer to fairgrounds". Contra Costa Times.
  18. Rose, Tanya. (January 13, 2006). "Bypass, eBART among traffic plans". Brentwood News.
  19. "Project Information".
  20. PBS&J. (September 2008). "East Contra Costa BART Extension Draft EIR". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
  21. PBS&J. (September 2008). "East Contra Costa BART Extension Draft EIR". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
  22. PBS&J. (September 2008). "East Contra Costa BART Extension Draft EIR". San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
  23. Guevarra, Ericka Cruz. (November 12, 2015). "Officials to Celebrate BART's Eastward Expansion in Contra Costa County". [[KQED (TV).
  24. (April 27, 2009). "BART moves forward with $1 billion in extension projects". [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] (BART).
  25. (October 14, 2010). "BART Board approves contract on Eastern Contra Costa County extension". [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] (BART).
  26. (April 3, 2013). "East Contra Costa BART Extension (eBART)". [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] (BART).
  27. (January 22, 2015). "Pittsburg secures last piece of funding for eBART, expect new station in 2018". Digital First Media.
  28. Brekke, Dan. (June 1, 2018). "BART's New Antioch Station Is Very Popular -- and Doesn't Have Enough Parking". KQED.
  29. (2018-06-06). "Editorial: Impressions of BART's New Line to Antioch".
  30. "eBART extension to Brentwood still a distant idea". Brentwood Press & Publishing.
  31. (12 May 2017). "BART: Board vote brings commuter rail closer to Brentwood". The Mercury News.
  32. CDM Smith. "eBART Next Segment Study". [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] (BART).
  33. (March 8, 2017). "Altamont DMU Study: March 2017". San Joaquin Regional Rail Commission.
  34. Dyett & Bhatia. (January 2009). "Hillcrest Station Area Specific Plan". City of Antioch.
  35. (May 19, 2015). "East Contra Costa BART Extension (eBART) Implementation". [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] (BART).
  36. (April 28, 2014). "Stadler awarded eBART train contract". DVV Media UK.
  37. (April 26, 2014). "Stadler Rail delivers trains to Oakland". [[Stadler Rail]].

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bay-area-rapid-transitantioch,-californiabay-point,-californiabrentwood,-californiacalifornia-railroadspittsburg,-californiapublic-transportation-in-the-san-francisco-bay-arearailway-lines-in-highway-mediansrailway-lines-opened-in-2018standard-gauge-railways-in-the-united-statestransportation-in-contra-costa-county,-californiarailway-branch-lines2018-establishments-in-california