BART to Antioch Service to kick off with community celebration

The wait is almost over for East County residents.  BART to Antioch will open for passenger service on Saturday, May 26, 2018.  To celebrate, BART will hold a community ribbon-cutting celebration on Friday, May 25, 2018 at 11am at the new Antioch Station featuring free preview train rides and local entertainment.

New service is fast, clean, and comfortable

The service between the Pittsburg/Bay Point Station and Antioch is 10 miles long and adds two new stations.  The extension will be able to carry an estimated 2,400 people in each direction, per hour, during rush hours.

“This is a new dawn for transit in this part of the Bay Area,” said BART Director Joel Keller, who serves East Contra Costa County and led efforts to bring the extension to the region. “Making this visionary project a reality took the long-term dedication of East County residents, and the commitment of many local, regional, state, and federal leaders.”

BART to Antioch is part of the Highway 4 Widening Project, which expanded Highway 4 between Pittsburg and Brentwood. The combined project was designed to bring commute relief as soon as possible with minimal disruption to the traveling public.

The $525 million cost of the extension is about half of the $1 billion cost estimated for extending BART’s traditional electric-powered line.

Quiet DMU trains offer a smooth ride

The extension marks the first time BART is using Diesel Multiple Units or DMU train cars.  They meet the US Government’s strictest emissions standards and use renewable diesel, an advanced biofuel produced from bio-based sources such as vegetable oil.

The DMUs run on their own tracks in the median of State Route 4 and connect with the existing BART system at a Transfer Platform just east of the Pittsburg Bay Point Station. At the Transfer Platform, riders simply exit one train and walk across the platform to board the other train. BART passengers trying to reach the Pittsburg Center Station or the Antioch Station will remain in the BART train to reach the Transfer Platform. The Transfer Platform is only reachable by train. 

The trains boast a variety of amenities including digital signs, automated audio announcements, and modern climate control systems for those hot summer months.

Two new stations  

The new Pittsburg Center Station is located at the Railroad Avenue overpass of Highway 4 in Pittsburg. The new Antioch Station is located at 1600 Slatten Ranch Road in Antioch. Learn more about the stations and service in our FAQ.

Schedule

The BART to Antioch schedule has been incorporated into our QuickPlanner, which can be found on the bart.gov homepage. For schedules by line or by station, enter a date of May 26, 2018 or later.

Community celebration open house

The public is invited to share the excitement with us at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, May 25, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the Antioch Station. Free preview train rides will be provided all day and into the evening.
 

WHAT:           Public celebration of the opening of BART to Antioch.

• There will be no BART service to event.
• Free shuttles will run between the Pittsburg/Bay Point and Antioch Stations between 9am and 9pm every 15 to 30 minutes. The shuttles will accommodate people with wheelchairs.
• Tri-Delta Transit's 300 bus also runs between the Pittsburg/Bay Point and Antioch Stations.
• Attendees will get free rides on the line’s new environmentally-friendly Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) train.
• The rides will start in Antioch and will end at the transfer platform in Pittsburg.
• They will not stop at Pittsburg Center Station until after 3pm and will not connect to the main BART system.
• BART’s new Fleet of the Future train cars will be at the transfer platform for tours, but will not disembark.

WHERE:        Antioch BART Station, 1600 Slatten Ranch Road
                       East of Hillcrest Avenue exit off Highway 4

WHEN:          Friday, May 25, 2018
                      Ribbon cutting ceremony 11am-Noon
                      Free public train rides 1pm-8pm

SPEAKERS will include BART General Manager Grace Crunican, BART Board members and regional elected officials and transportation leaders.

Entertainment provided by the Pittsburg High School Jazz Combo and the Antioch High School Music Masters