Podcast: What BART's biggest track rebuilding project means for your ride

You can get full details on the track revitalization project happening between Rockridge, MacArthur, and 19th Street stations in Oakland here.

(Podcast transcript below)

FILIPPI: When it comes to rebuilding the backbone of BART, the upcoming track work in the heart of Oakland is the main event. Welcome to “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART.”  

Years of planning have gone into the track replacement work that’s going to be happening on select weekends over the next three years in the core of the BART system. Organizers are calling this the most challenging and complex segment of BART’s revitalization plan that started in 2016, when District voters approved Measure RR. The measure provides $3.5 billion to replace aging track, traction power cables, and other vital equipment.

I’m your host Chris Filippi and this time on Hidden Tracks I’m joined by BART Project Manager Kevin Reeg who can talk about the challenges of this work and what will be accomplished, as well as BART Operations Planner Hayley Toy who will share more about how to navigate BART during all this work and the many efforts we’ve taken to reduce the impacts on riders from these shutdowns. Kevin and Hayley thank you both for being here.

Kevin and Haley, thank you so much for joining us. 

REEG and TOY: Thank you. Thanks for having us. 

FILIPPI: So, Kevin, let's start with you and give us the 30,000 feet view of this. This is a huge project that's coming up. It's in the heart of Oakland. Tell us what's going on. 

REEG: Yeah. So this, all the track work in this area was opened in 1972. So, it's seen 52 years of service. The section of track we’re planning to replace with this project is between 19th Street and MacArthur Station. It’s the most complicated section of track in the BART system.  There are actually four tracks wide there, anybody that’s ridden through that area knows the platform at MacArthur well.

FILIPP: I think it's really interesting that BART is more than 50 years old. We just celebrated our 50th anniversary last year. The equipment that's being replaced literally was there at the start of service back in 1972. It's amazing. It's lasted so long. 

REEG: Yeah, I mean, we're fortunate Oakland's got a Mediterranean environment, so it's a little easier on conditions. It's not in Chicago or somewhere else like New York City. So, 52 years it has made that benchmark. But, it's all on timber tires and they are degrading and then the track is also wearing out just due to significant wear at that location.

FILIPPIL: When you look at what's happening with this project, we're talking about equipment that's decades old. but on top of that, there are other challenges here, right? Like this is a difficult part of the system to get into when it comes to equipment, when it comes to access for the team. 

REEG: This site is particularly challenging because it's in the median of State Route 24. Back when this was built, there were 3 million less people in the Bay. State Route 24 was two lanes in each direction and, there was an area to work from to actually build this trackway. Now, of course, the freeway goes right up to the BART right-of-way, and the four sets of tracks go right up to the, Caltrans right-of-way.

So, all the work has to come in. either through the trackway or through a minor driveway that comes off of West MacArthur Boulevard. So, in other interlocking replacement projects, we've used large cranes and we've pre-assembled panels and lifted them into place. Here, just due to the density and the location of the freeway and the proximity to the other tracks, this is going to have to be built piece by piece and all those pieces will come in on the track away from a yard in Oakland. 

FILIPPI: And I would think that's got to be one of the reasons why this work is happening on select weekends over three years. This is going to take some time. 

REEG: Yeah. There’re 16 switches, just to give the kind of complexity between 19th Street and MacArthur, there's 16 switches between those two stations that need to be replaced. Switch is like an interchange where you can change tracks from one track to the next. There's 16 located in that spot so, it's very dense and then at each of these weekends, we'll replace one of those switches. Each of those will be loaded up on a train in Oakland, brought in and then assembled right on location. And while we do that, because of the proximity of the tracks to each other and the absence of room to work from, there can be no trains going by. First off, the section of track that we're facing will be completely removed. But secondly, will be too close to the tracks adjacent to have trains going by so this is what necessitates the bus bridge and why we do it on the weekends, just when we have less ridership. 

FILIPPI: This is such a complex dance, and it requires so much planning. And Haley, that's a great spot to bring you in because you deal with the operations planning aspects of this and specifically how riders are impacted and how they can get around the bus bridge. When you're presented with a major project like this, it's going to extend over three years, multiple weekends, 18 weekends, I believe. talk about the planning process and what happens on your end in terms of trying to limit the impact on our riders.

TOY: Yeah, absolutely. going off what Kevin said, we try to mitigate the delays as much as possible for our riders with these big track work projects. At the beginning, when we're in the beginning planning and initial planning phases, we review all the work and route prohibits that are suggested for the track work and then we work around that. So, we really analyze where the track work is taking place compared to where the trains are running. So, like in this case, at MacArthur, there really is only room for one track to be open and we actually fought for that track to be open for in Operations Planning. This will allow the Orange Line to come into MacArthur and is also one of the reasons why the Yellow Line is stopping at Rockridge. So, through this initial planning phase, we can create the best scenario for our customers that is the least impactful. 

FILIPPI: And it must be really hard to do that given the location of where this work is happening. I mean, Oakland's right in the core of everything. 

TOY: Yeah. Urban stations add another level of complexity to bus bridge coordination, not only for the customers, but also for our bus operators, the bus agencies that we work with. It makes it much more complex for bus routing. And street availability for drop offs and pickups. Also, for passengers who may need, the elevator like ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) passengers or people with baggage. 

So, the next piece of the puzzle for our initial planning is the train schedule development. For this bus bridge because it's so complex, we've actually, tested multiple scheduling scenarios through modeling software that we have. We’ve basically found the most resilient and efficient option for our customers. This involves balancing the need for efficiency, as frequent service as possible, while also the goal of minimizing disruption. Through this modeling, we actually tested multiple service scenarios with tribulations. So, building in delays and testing for delays. Then we decided on the best service to run. For example the Orange Line, Green, Blue and yeah those three lines have 30 minute service while the Yellow Line has 20 minutes service. We tested all four lines of 20 minute service, and because of the way our track is structured and the need for single tracking in and out of 19th and 12th Street, and as well as, MacArthur Station for the Orange Line, those service scenarios would not work if there were delays. It would cause compounding delays and like hours of delays for our customers.

So, we have a resilient plan, a little bit of a longer headway for 30 minutes for a lot of the lines while also servicing the airport every 20 minutes in downtown San Francisco through the Yellow Line. 

FILIPPI: It's really interesting, the software modeling aspect of this. Is that something that's new or has that been used on past track shutdowns?

TOY: We usually use it for the really complex shutdowns and we actually go through a third-party vendor and they develop the testing for us and then we analyze, basically go through analysis of it. We don't usually use it for other shutdowns, especially the ones at the end of the lines because they're more simple, we can do our own analysis and testing through our software system there, like building the schedules and doing our own testing. Whereas the more complex ones we have a train modeling third party come through.

FILIPPI: It’s not just about headways, right? It's not just about the time between trains, but it's having resiliency and having confidence in the schedule you come up with that it can actually stand up through whatever may happen on a given weekend.

TOY: Yeah, absolutely. 

REEG: Well, and the Orange Line has special challenges just because, the Orange Line, we're bringing single track into MacArthur Station, there's no switches between MacArthur Station and the Berkeley Station. So, the trains have to be single tracked, from MacArthur to Ashby to Berkeley and it's not until past then that they can switch tracks and go onto both platforms at North Berkeley. The net effect is, is you have one way traffic into MacArthur Station and one way traffic back out, which leads to the longer, headways on the Orange Line. 

FILIPPI: It speaks to just the realities of the BART system and the fact is, we do not have redundant tracks. So, we really do rely on these interlocking, these components of the trackway that allow trains to go from track to track. It's a really important thing that I think a lot of our riders maybe aren't even aware of. 

TOY: Yeah, it's a very complex system, and there are a lot of different constraints that can cause extra delays for passengers based on where the work location is happening. 

FILIPPI: And then, Kevin, planning on your end of things. I know the talks about this project have been going on for years, right?

REEG: Yeah, I've only taken the project over the last year. But as you mentioned, Measure RR was approved in 2016 and, the planning for this project started in the spring of 2017. So, it was a massive design effort, that ended a few years ago and then we've gone into major procurements for traction power materials, train control materials, and the biggest packages of all were the special track work, for all the 16 switches. Those have gone to the (BART) Board and over the last couple of years and now we're receiving materials and getting ready to go out there and actually build the work. 

FILIPPI: We've successfully completed more than 50 tracks shutdowns since RR was approved. What lessons have been learned from those past track shutdowns? 

REEG: Those weekend shutdowns were comprised both of by contractors replacing switches and interlocking and also BART forces and of those, BART forces have replaced 34 switches. Most of those were panelized construction but, recently we've done more what I call stick build where they're built piece by piece on location where there's not access for a crane. In fact, the, the shutdowns in spring of 2023 were built in the same way between Rockridge and MacArthur Station. So, the BART crews have gotten, significant experience doing this work and they've developed quite the skill set for that. 

FILIPPI: Shutdowns are kind of a new thing for BART. We really didn't do them before measure RR, but we do them now with some frequency. Why shut down the trackway? Why is that necessary? 

REEG: The biggest thing is the proximity of the two tracks to each other. Most locations are only two tracks wide. At this location were four tracks wide. But we're pulling one track completely out of service, so obviously you wouldn't be able to run trains there. But, with our workers, we can't have the trains running past them. We need the adjacent area to bring in equipment and materials. And so just from a safety aspect and operationally with the construction itself, it's just impossible.

FILIPPI: We have what we call the blanket, which is when revenue service ends in that period until it resumes early in the morning and that's only a few hours. You really do need more than that for a project like this, I would think?

REEG: Yeah, just the process of taking the trackwork out will take a few hours, but then now you have to go back in and do regrading, new ballast, bring in all the materials. It's actually a challenge to bank it in that weekend shutdown. We have an hour-by-hour schedule that we go through starting Friday at midnight all the way until Monday morning at 4 a.m. when we can bring the track service back into service. It's around the clock, there's multiple crews that take over, after the one crews time out, but it's a 24-hour operation from Friday night to Monday morning. Then there's multiple safety checks done Monday morning and a test train that's run to make sure that the new trackway is operational and safe before revenue service starts on Monday morning.

FILIPPI: How much pressure are you feeling when it gets to like 1 a.m. on Monday? 

REEG: Well, it goes back to the hour-by-hour schedule. That’s the whole point of that is to find out if you're falling behind and fortunately, over the last couple of years, we've been able to maintain and be right on top of that schedule, so the stress levels have gone down. Early on, I think there was a little bit more stress with that when we were first getting into this Measure RR program. But knock on wood and timber ties, we've been fortunate recently. 

FILIPPI: Yeah, 24/7 work. So, how many people are involved in a project like this?

REEG: At a typical, section of the day, there would be 30 to 40 workers on site. Over the weekend, with all the different locations where work is taking place, there'll be a couple hundred workers that they'll be out every weekend. 

FILIPPI: And then Haley, they're going to be extra people at all of the impacted stations, too. There are other layers of this. We do so much public outreach for a big project like this, talking to reporters, the public, elected officials, doing all that outreach. But a key part of that really is the additional people that will be at these stations helping riders to find their way. 

TOY: Yeah, exactly. We have at least 15 people at 19th Street Station, and this is mainly for outside the paid area. There's also additional transportation staff inside the paid area on the platform and in the concourse and then we have wayfinding guides. outside of the paid area on the concourse and the street level to help people, to help guide people to the correct bus, depending on their final destination. 

We also have a very intense signage plan. We have a total of 149 signs for all three of the stations, which is our biggest and most complex signage plan to date. So, we supplement the signs obviously with personnel and we also have interpreters. we have Mandarin, Cantonese interpreters as well as Spanish interpreters on the platform, concourse, and street level at 19th Street Station and then, the street level at MacArthur and at Rockridge stations. 

FILIPPI: And also, coordination with other agencies is a big factor too and building relationships with your transit partners with, AC transit, with County Connection, those sorts of folks. That must be a big part of this as well. 

TOY: BART is super fortunate to have strong relationships with the bus agencies in the Bay Area, which is really crucial for the successful coordination of a bus bridge.

FILIPPI: And I assume more lessons learned there, too, not just for the track folks that are actually doing the work, but for, again, providing a bus bridge that's resilient and helping riders find their way. What kind of lessons have been learned over all these different shutdowns?

TOY: Each shutdown lends lesson learned opportunities and we examine what worked well and what didn't. Over the past year, we've had a lot of one-off bus bridges. This is like a bus bridge for only one weekend at different locations throughout the Bay Area. This has really given us an opportunity to have new bus bridge experiences and focus on lessons learned for those. So, I think the biggest one is improved communication. On previous shutdowns, it's been highlighted that the need for better there is a need for better communication with passengers and this is not only for BART passengers, but also passengers that may be affected by bus station stops being relocated. In response, we've significantly increased staffing and implemented an extensive signage campaign for this bus bridge, like I mentioned. This will ensure that passengers receive clear, timely information and assistance throughout their journey, which is really important. And making sure that there's adequate signage for the temporary bus stops, which will happen at 19th Street and at Rockridge Station. 

Another thing is really optimizing our transfers. So, we've learned the importance of ensuring timely transfers, especially when we're canceling the supplemental lines of service, like maybe the Red Line or the Green Line, depending on where we are in the system. That mitigates delays for passengers needing to transfer lines to get to their final destination. 

FILIPPI: So, let's just say for the sake of example, we have a rider who uses BART on the weekends. Listening to this podcast is the first time they've heard of this shutdown. What's your advice for them? 

TOY: Plan in advance and make sure that you check the BART Trip Planner to plan your trip and you can also go on the BART App to have to look at the real time departures. So, this bus bridge is actually specific in that all lines of service are going to be affected. So, don't rely on your normal weekend departure times because they will be different. 

So, while you're planning your trip, also make sure that you incorporate delays. So, if you need to get somewhere at a certain time, incorporate up to 40-minute delays and plan for that.

While you're traveling on the bus bridge, make sure you're paying attention to station announcements as well as train operating announcements while you're on the train. This will help you know when to disembark the train to go onto the bus bridge. Then once you're off the train, follow the wayfinding signs. If you need help or if you need assistance, don't be afraid to ask someone in the yellow vest for help and make sure you're also kind of paying attention to where your final destination is so that you can make sure you get on the right bus especially if you're someone who transfers regularly at MacArthur or 19th Street. 

FILIPPI: And Kevin, sticking with that bottom line for riders, the whole reason we're doing this is to increase the resilience of the system, to make it more reliable, so there's a payoff for them. I was impressed. I saw in the last year the number of trains that were delayed due to rail issues dropped by 400 from the previous year, and that has to do with the work that's going on that these shutdowns, they're a temporary inconvenience, but they're paying off for the rider.

REEG: Yes. even just around this location, we've replaced the interlocking work in into this location. So, between Rockridge and MacArthur, we've replaced those interlocking, between West Oakland and 19th, we've replaced interlocking. We've been replacing infrastructure throughout the system, and we've had measurable results on that. 

FILIPPI: Does the past experience with the other shutdowns give you confidence going into what really, it seems to me to be the most complex of the projects that we have going with this? 

REEG: It has. BART forces have replaced 34 switches at various interlockings and recently we've done more of the stick build variety, and we've matched up and developed hour-by-hour schedules that we've been able to, hit successfully and repeatedly and that's it has given us a lot of confidence here. 

FILIPPI That was an interesting transition going from contractors early on to now it's primarily BART crews that are doing the work. What was that and why did that happen, that transition?

REEG: there's a natural efficiency for utilizing the BART forces that are already out there. They're trained and even when there's a contractor out there, we need to supplement with BART forces. So, there's an efficiency there by doing the work ourselves.

We've now established a very, well-trained crew and very skilled, crews to do this work efficiently. 

FILIPPI: Kevin, how long have you been with BART? 

REEG: I've been with BART for six years. 

FILIPPI: Six years, you've had a chance to be involved in similar projects. Maybe not on this scale, but certainly nonetheless important projects. What do you enjoy about getting ready and organizing a huge thing like this?

REEG: Yeah, my background is in construction. So, when I came to BART, it was part of the Measure RR to do the track interlocking replacements and so that's been my primary, focus I've worked on interlockings throughout the system and so that's kind of my forte. My biggest reward is, I'm a construction person, so I always enjoy seeing, brand new, concrete ties and brand new track work and walking away from something and looking at it, and it's in perfect condition and everything has been renewed. There's a satisfaction with that for sure.

FILIPPI: And Haley, same question for you. How long have you been at BART? 

TOY: I've been at BART, it'll be eight years in October. 

FILIPPI: And so, what do you enjoy about being involved in a major project like this? 

TOY: I actually really love being in the field. I am kind of the bus bridge coordinator, so I'm out there all day, both days, making sure the busses run smoothly, making sure our wayfinding guides are actively helping passengers and making sure they're positioned in the right places. But I really enjoy seeing the riders, and working in the stations, helping people find the right bus to get on, and just engaging with the customers in a level that I did not get to before I worked as an operations planner.

FILIPPI: What are you hearing from our riders? 

TOY: We get a lot of positive and sometimes negative feedback too, and that that's helped us really improve the customer experience for these bus bridges. We have a lot of specific challenges that we always think about in the planning process, and this is often with passenger flow, just the way the stations are built. It's not always ideal to have a group of people exiting and entering from like one station exit, for example. Trying to really mitigate the issues that we've seen before. For example, when an escalator exits, you just only have one escalator instead of two, one going up and the stairs next to it. And the you can switch the direction of the escalator.

We basically get a lot of feedback about how easy is it for a person to get off the train, find the bus that they need to go on, get on the bus, and then get back on the train at the next station. So usually, we really try and make sure that we've developed a bus schedule and provided enough busses so that no one's waiting, that they can just get on the next bus to get on the train and also developing a train schedule that really centers around the bus bridge riders. 

FILIPPI: When you talk about organizing the bus rides, a key factor is having enough buses. How many do you need to handle all the riders on an eight-car train? 

TOY: That really depends on where the bus bridge is happening in the system. So, the end of the lines usually see less passengers because it's not a core corridor of BART.

So previously for bus bridges like from Richmond to all El Cerrito del Norte Station or from Concord to Pleasant Hill, we usually use one 60-foot articulated bus per eight car train or six car train, depending on where it is in the system and that is completely out the window for this bus bridge. So, we're going to have, like between Rockridge and 19th Street, we're going to have eight articulated buses in rotation. Additionally for MacArthur and 19th Street we're having an additional eight articulated buses in rotation. So, that's 16 buses just for those two direct routes. And then we also have a smaller route going from MacArthur to Rockridge station and those are going to have 40-foot buses and that'll be like likely two 40 foot buses per train load coming into MacArthur.

FILIPPI: And then another part of that is also accommodating bicyclists that are on BART. That has to be factored in too, I would think, to the buses. 

TOY: Yeah, absolutely. and especially now, because we're seeing a lot more bicyclists on BART. A lot of the times we incorporate that just by having buses take off every ten minutes. So, even though the trains are coming in, every 20 minutes or even every 30 minutes, we have buses taking off every ten minutes so that the passengers who have bicycles can wait for the next bus to come and get on the bus and then still meet the train waiting for them at the next station.

FILIPPI:  I'm sure one question some passengers are going to have is, why are we canceling the Red Line? How does that help things? 

TOY: It is mainly due to the single tracking between Berkeley and MacArthur stations, because it takes 25 minutes for one train to get from Berkeley to MacArthur, unload passengers, reload passengers, and then go back to the switch just north of Berkeley. That's 25 minutes so we really don't have any leeway, any additional time to slot the Red Line trains in there and because we have 20-minute service on the Yellow Line south of 19th Street that's going to bring people into the city on a 20-minute headway and that'll also be servicing San Francisco Airport all day instead of just after 9 p.m.. So, we're supplementing some additional service on the Yellow Line to make up for the Red Line being canceled. 

I will add that the success of a bus bridge, not only from the track work and maintenance side, but also from the bus operations and train operation side, really depends on the coordination of so many departments all working together towards one common goal. It's really impressive to see that happening in real time during the bus bridge During the bus bridge, I get updates from the project managers and can see in real time the work happening and there's always one thing I pay attention to, which is, is there a threat to revenue service on Monday? And the answer is always no because they're that efficient.

FILIPPI: BART Project Manager Kevin Reeg and BART Operations Planner Haley Toy, thank you both for joining us. 

REEG AND TOY: Thank you. 

FILIPPI: Thanks for listening to “Hidden Tracks: Stories from BART.” You can listen to our podcast on SoundCloud, iTunes, Google Play, and of course at our website BART.gov/podcasts.