A race 'til dawn: BART's overnight maintenance
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It's a mystery to some riders - why does BART shut down for a few hours each night? The answer is both simple and complex. The simple answer is that BART must turn off third rail power to the system to complete mandated inspections and critical maintenance work.
The complexity is in the multiple jobs required to keep a 44-year-old transit system operating reliably; painstaking jobs that must be done safely, professionally and all within a few hours. There's no room for error and no time to waste. While the Bay Area sleeps, for BART, it is truly a "Race 'Til Dawn."