USDOT announces $300M to improve capacity on BART heavy rail system

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The cities of Oakland and San Francisco will benefit from $300 million in Capital Investment Grants (CIG) in the days ahead, authorized by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to improve capacity on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) heavy rail system that connects the two.

It is part of a project known as the Transbay Corridor Core Capacity project. The $300 million given to its capacity improvement efforts is merely an initial payment on the overall CIG commitment. The funding will, however, help it advance into its second phase: engineering. After completing more steps, it will be eligible for a construction grant agreement.

“We are pleased to allocate funding to San Francisco’s Transbay project,” FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams said. “This project will allow BART to operate up to 30 trains per hour through the Transbay Tube, helping to alleviate crowding and accommodate growing ridership.”

The CIG program, which allowed for this grant, funds major transit infrastructure capital investments. The Transbay project is one of 23 projects approved for CIG funds since 2017.