BART brings three new traction power substations online, strengthening reliability across the system

BART has energized three newly constructed substations that are providing tangible benefits to BART riders in the core of the system. The added redundancy helps minimize service disruptions while improving operational flexibility throughout the core of the system.

New substations at Civic Center/UN Plaza Station, Montgomery St. Station, and near the Oakland entrance to the Transbay Tube, entered service between January and June 2026 as part of BART's Transbay Corridor Core Capacity Program. 

This comes as BART's ridership has been increasing and passenger on-time performance has been on the rise. In the latest quarter, BART's Passenger On-time Performance Rate was 94.4%, the best result in more than 10 years outside of the COVID period. 

"Traction power substations are the backbone of the BART system," said Myat San, BART's Chief Infrastructure Officer. "Every train depends on them to receive the power needed to operate safely and reliably. The recently energized substation increase capacity, improve redundancy, and makes our electrical network more resilient, which helps us provide dependable service now and prepare the system for the future."

The new facilities allow power to be supplied from multiple locations if another substation is taken out of service for planned maintenance or an unexpected outage.

The substations also increase available power capacity by approximately 20 percent over the baseline capacity on the M-Line through the system's core, improve voltage performance, and reduce stress on older electrical equipment during periods of heavy demand.

The increase in available power from the new substations will also give BART the future capability to run additional trains through the Transbay Tube as part of BART's Transbay Corridor Core Capacity Program (TCCCP). TCCCP will see the construction of a total of six substations, including the downtown San Francisco substations. These will provide the energy needed to power additional trains, with the objective of running up to thirty ten-car trains per hour in both directions of the Transbay Tube.

"Modernizing our traction power system gives us greater flexibility to operate under a wide range of conditions," said Gordon Wong, BART Principal Electrical Engineer. "With additional capacity and redundancy built into the network, we can better maintain reliable service while supporting growth in ridership for decades to come."

BART currently operates 136 traction power facilities throughout its system. Construction on three additional substations (one in Richmond, one in Concord, and one in Oakland) is expected to begin within the next year.

The majority of the funding for BART's Traction Power Substation project comes from Measure RR funds, as well as contributions from TCCCP, the Federal Transit Administration and BART funds.