BART’s schedule will change on January 13, 2025, to launch construction of a modern train control system
On January 13, 2025, BART will make schedule changes to accommodate the launch of construction to replace BART’s aged train control system with a modern Communications Based Train Control System.
The schedule change is happening in coordination with the region’s other transit systems as part of a collective effort to sync schedules, reduce impacts, and improve transfers for transit riders in the Bay Area.
Minor Adjustments
Overall, some departure times will shift by a few minutes, and we encourage riders to check the schedule before January 13, 2025, to see if their trip is impacted.
The BART Trip Planner has been updated with the new schedule so riders can start planning their trips using the date January 13, 2025, and beyond. PDF timetables of the new schedule will be posted soon.
Late Night Construction between Colma and Millbrae for New Train Control System
Crews will be working on the track between Colma and Millbrae nightly after 9pm to upgrade our train control system. To reduce delays from this work, the Yellow Line will terminate at SFO instead of Millbrae to provide the resiliency our system needs to keep trains running on time and as optimally as possible in this section of track during the construction.
Late Night Changes for Millbrae Riders
After 9pm, Millbrae station will be served by a train that will run every 15 minutes between Millbrae and SFO only and riders will have an easy cross platform transfer at SFO to board a Yellow Line train to finish their trip.
At Millbrae, two of the four trains each hour will be timed with Caltrain’s 30-minute service schedule to provide a good transfer between Caltrain and BART.
As previously noted, after Red Line service ends each night, Yellow Line trains will terminate at SFO instead of Millbrae. Once at SFO, riders heading to Millbrae will cross the platform to board the Millbrae train, it will be labeled as a Yellow Line train to Millbrae.
However, after midnight, the final four Yellow Line trains to SFO station will proceed to Millbrae (riders will not need to transfer for Millbrae service), similar to the current schedule. The final train of the evening will bypass SFO, as it always does, and go straight to Millbrae. This is consistent with the current schedule.
These late evening changes will be displayed in the PDF timetable and in the Trip Planner to guide riders. And the official BART system map online, and posted at stations, will indicate a change in trains is necessary between 9pm-midnight.
This nightly service plan for Millbrae riders is expected to last several years as BART has prioritized this section of track to be the first area to bring on Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) in the BART system. The state-of-the-art CBTC system will transform BART service by enabling trains to run closer together and by updating aged equipment. A modernized train control system will enable BART to increase projected Transbay capacity to 30-trains per hour per direction in the core system area, from the current limitation of 24-trains per hour per direction.
Transit Coordination – The Big Sync
Bay Area transit agencies are now syncing schedules in a whole new way with a focus on improving transfers between systems and making schedule changes at the same time.
Most Bay Area transit agencies are rolling out new schedules in mid-January in coordination with each other and have now aligned the timing of schedule changes twice each year, once in summer (mid-August) and once in winter (mid-January). Since 2022, the number of transit agencies with full schedule change alignment (changing schedules at the same time August and January) has increased from 4 to 19, for a 375% increase.
Advancing schedule change alignment is a key priority for Bay Area transit general managers who meet on a weekly basis to make transit more rider-focused and efficient.
BART System Map for January 13, 2025 Schedule Change
