BART amps up power cable replacement work

Rail News Home Maintenance Of Way 4/16/2020 Rail News: Maintenance Of Way
With longer work windows due to reduced ridership, BART could shave up to a year of work on its power cable replacement project.Photo – BART Facebook

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) crews earlier this week began replacing rail power cables on weekdays in downtown San Francisco, a project made possible by reduced ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Previously, power cable replacement work was performed late at night and on Sundays. With reduced ridership on the system, BART crews are now able to start replacements earlier. 

The extra time potentially means BART will be able to “pull” four reels of cable instead of one per shift. That equals up to 9,200 linear feet of cable that can be installed each night, agency officials said in a press release.

“This could shave off up to a year of work affecting our customers from the six-year-long project,” BART officials said.