BART OKs funding for new rail-car fleet

Bay Area Rapid Transit's (BART) board has approved a $1.92 billion budget for fiscal-year 2018 that includes funds to acquire new rail cars.

The budget allocates $285 million toward the acquisition of 775 new rail cars as part of BART's "Fleet of the Future" program. The agency aims to order 1,081 cars under that that program.

In addition, the budget provides $97 million to continue traction power infrastructure replacement, as well as $67 million for station modernization. Furthermore, BART has set aside $100 million for its earthquake safety program, including $74 million for a seismic retrofit of the Transbay Tube.

The budget includes a 2.7 percent fare increase that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2018. The fare hike is part of a formula that increases fares every other year to keep pace with inflation, BART officials said in a press release.