Home Antioch Community Celebrates Opening of BART to Antioch Extension, Opens Saturday

Community Celebrates Opening of BART to Antioch Extension, Opens Saturday

by ECT

A ribbon-cutting celebration was held today for BART’s newest addition, the BART to Antioch extension.

Elected officials and BART representatives joined hundreds of community members for the ceremony outside of the new Antioch Station, one day before the official start of service.

BART Director Joel Keller receiving a Key to BART.

“East County residents now have an environmentally friendly, comfortable and state-of-the-art commute option”, said BART Director Joel Keller, who serves East Contra Costa County and is among the local leaders who were instrumental in getting the extension built. “The BART to Antioch extension will carry as many people as an additional lane of Highway 4 and will reduce vehicle miles traveled by 99 million per year.”

During the ceremony, Keller explained how the process was long and challenging but they worked through it.

“It gives me great pleasure to say that the train has finally arrived in Antioch,” said Joel Keller. “When I was elected to the mayors office in 1984, I commuted from Antioch to Martinez and the traffic was pretty bad back then and its pretty bad today so I knew we had to have an alternative to single occupancy automobile.”

Keller said that for years he had wanted to bring BART out here and there were legitimate struggles along the way that they worked through.

“I think most people, especially once you are able to get on the train and ride these cars who asked what all the fuss is about, these are terrific vehicles,” explained Keller. “The idea of classic BART was not deliverable and within the budget of $500 million, classic BART was about double that and it just wasn’t cost effective.”

Clayton Councilmember Julie Pierce

The service between the Pittsburg/Bay Point Station and Antioch is 10 miles long and adds two new stations, the Pittsburg Center Station and the Antioch Station.

BART General Manager Grace Crunican said, “Today is a great day for commuters in eastern Contra Costa County. Now they can choose to zip down Highway 4 moving at speeds up to 75 miles per hour on BART.”

The extension will be able to carry an estimated 2,400 people in each direction, per hour, during rush hours.

It marks the first time BART is using Diesel Multiple Units or DMU train cars. They meet the US Government’s strictest emissions standards and use renewable diesel, an advanced biofuel produced from bio-based sources such as vegetable oil.

Service begins Saturday, May 26th with the first train departing Antioch at 5:43am.

Supervisor Federal Glover proclaimed the trains are here and discussed how the plan was a long time in the works.

“I will never forget the day that Joel Keller walked into my office sharing with me eBART. I am sitting there like I really understood what he was talking about but had no clue what the hell eBARt was. So after going through a huge discussion I finally said what is eBART,” explained Glover. “He replied East County BART and I replied what in the hell are you talking about, you want to give us something substandard to BART and once we went through the whole idea about what eBART was and wasn’t in terms of cost savings and type of quality with BART, at the same time understanding that the amenities that come with it was making todays new technology. At that time, it sold me. The task became convincing other leaders it was the right thing to do.”

Glover proclaimed the trains are here and discussed how the plan was a long time in the works.

“I will never forget the day that Joel Keller walked into my office sharing with me eBART. I am sitting there like I really understood what he was talking about but had no clue what the hell eBARt was. So after going through a huge discussion I finally said what is eBART,” explained Glover. “He replied East County BART and I replied what in the hell are you talking about, you want to give us something substandard to BART and once we went through the whole idea about what eBART was and wasn’t in terms of cost savings and type of quality with BART, at the same time understanding that the amenities that come with it was making todays new technology. At that time, it sold me. The task became convincing other leaders it was the right thing to do.”

Glover stated with BART now in east county, it will help bring jobs to East County and build economic development and opens up the door to the Northern Waterfront Project.

Supervisor Diane Burgis sits with Congressman Jerry McNerney on the new eBART train

Supervisor Diane Burgis took a moment to acknowledge all the decision makers, elected, taxpayers and people who build this station because today was a celebration for them.

“You have the previous Delta right here, there is going to be a day where people take BART and now visit the Delta, we have an agricultural community with fresh fruits and vegetables where half the time of the year I see you will get on a little ferry and go out and pick your vegetables and fruits and head home on BART,” said Burgis. “They say 45-to-70% of Contra Costa is community is commuting out of the area. I have a secret for you businesses and employers, there is something called counter commute, bring your business out here, we need the jobs.”

The BART map, QuickPlanner, and schedule have been updated to include the BART to Antioch extension.

Learn more about the stations and service in our FAQ.

Check out our video of the new extension.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/T2jR8wIRL8c” frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/by8XeYDsAHY” frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/AjJm-E4A2Z8″ frameborder=”0″ allow=”autoplay; encrypted-media” allowfullscreen></iframe>

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16 comments

Thanks May 25, 2018 - 7:09 pm

This is awesome! We’ve only been paying BART taxes since the 60’s. Outstanding. Don’t pay your back to hard.

LA May 26, 2018 - 7:04 am

Really great to see this extension open, Antioch is going to really bloom as a result of this transportation project, the local small business economy is going to boom. Thanks Joel Keller and all the BART people that put this together.

angry tax payer May 26, 2018 - 11:52 am

Not enough taxes collected for real bart out here. But enough collected to go to the southbay where they did not pay taxes on it for 30 years?
Seems like east county got screwed.

Joel Keller May 28, 2018 - 12:01 pm

Santa Clara County voters passed three sales tax measures to build, operate and maintain the extension to San Jose:

2000 Measure A
On August 9, 2000, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors voted to place a 30-year half-cent transit sales tax on the November 7, 2000 General Election ballot, giving Santa Clara County voters the opportunity to vote on transportation improvements in the county including construction of a BART Extension from Alameda County to Santa Clara County.

Measure A was approved by 70.3 percent of the voters and collection of the tax began in April 2006 to help fund design and construction of the BART Silicon Valley project.

2008 Measure B: Operation and Maintenance Funding
On November 4, 2008, an additional Santa Clara County ballot measure supporting the BART extension passed, receiving 66.78% of the vote, exceeding the two-thirds super majority. The 30-year eighth-cent Measure B sales tax will generate dedicated revenue to fulfill VTA’s obligation to BART for the operation, maintenance, and future capital reserve of the extension VTA constructs.

2008 Measure B stipulated that collection of the eighth-cent sales tax begin when federal and state funds were secured. Federal funds were considered secured and matched at the time VTA received a $900 million Full Funding Grant Agreement in March 2012. Collection of the eighth-cent sales tax began on July 1, 2012.

2016 Measure B

In June 2016, the VTA Board of Directors unanimously adopted the framework and funding amounts to place an additional ½-cent 30-year sales tax measure on the November 8, 2016 ballot to help fund transportation priorities. An extensive 18-month public outreach process gathered input and suggestions on how to best improve the transportation needs of Santa Clara County. Through this process, a list of categories and transportation projects was approved, including a plan to invest $1.5 billion in Phase II of the BART Silicon Valley Extension. Measure B, which required a two thirds majority vote, was approved by voters by more than 71 percent of the vote and becomes effective in April 2017.

Joel Keller May 28, 2018 - 12:15 pm

The voters in Santa Clara taxed themselves for the BART to San Jose extension:

2000 Measure A
On August 9, 2000, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors voted to place a 30-year half-cent transit sales tax on the November 7, 2000 General Election ballot, giving Santa Clara County voters the opportunity to vote on transportation improvements in the county including construction of a BART Extension from Alameda County to Santa Clara County.

Measure A was approved by 70.3 percent of the voters and collection of the tax began in April 2006 to help fund design and construction of the BART Silicon Valley project.

2008 Measure B: Operation and Maintenance Funding
On November 4, 2008, an additional Santa Clara County ballot measure supporting the BART extension passed, receiving 66.78% of the vote, exceeding the two-thirds super majority. The 30-year eighth-cent Measure B sales tax will generate dedicated revenue to fulfill VTA’s obligation to BART for the operation, maintenance, and future capital reserve of the extension VTA constructs.

2008 Measure B stipulated that collection of the eighth-cent sales tax begin when federal and state funds were secured. Federal funds were considered secured and matched at the time VTA received a $900 million Full Funding Grant Agreement in March 2012. Collection of the eighth-cent sales tax began on July 1, 2012.

2016 Measure B

In June 2016, the VTA Board of Directors unanimously adopted the framework and funding amounts to place an additional ½-cent 30-year sales tax measure on the November 8, 2016 ballot to help fund transportation priorities. An extensive 18-month public outreach process gathered input and suggestions on how to best improve the transportation needs of Santa Clara County. Through this process, a list of categories and transportation projects was approved, including a plan to invest $1.5 billion in Phase II of the BART Silicon Valley Extension. Measure B, which required a two thirds majority vote, was approved by voters by more than 71 percent of the vote and becomes effective in April 2017.

Joel Keller May 28, 2018 - 12:16 pm

The voters in Santa Clara taxed themselves for the BART to San Jose extension:

2000 Measure A
On August 9, 2000, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors voted to place a 30-year half-cent transit sales tax on the November 7, 2000 General Election ballot, giving Santa Clara County voters the opportunity to vote on transportation improvements in the county including construction of a BART Extension from Alameda County to Santa Clara County.

Measure A was approved by 70.3 percent of the voters and collection of the tax began in April 2006 to help fund design and construction of the BART Silicon Valley project.

2008 Measure B: Operation and Maintenance Funding
On November 4, 2008, an additional Santa Clara County ballot measure supporting the BART extension passed, receiving 66.78% of the vote, exceeding the two-thirds super majority. The 30-year eighth-cent Measure B sales tax will generate dedicated revenue to fulfill VTA’s obligation to BART for the operation, maintenance, and future capital reserve of the extension VTA constructs.

2008 Measure B stipulated that collection of the eighth-cent sales tax begin when federal and state funds were secured. Federal funds were considered secured and matched at the time VTA received a $900 million Full Funding Grant Agreement in March 2012. Collection of the eighth-cent sales tax began on July 1, 2012.

2016 Measure B

In June 2016, the VTA Board of Directors unanimously adopted the framework and funding amounts to place an additional ½-cent 30-year sales tax measure on the November 8, 2016 ballot to help fund transportation priorities. An extensive 18-month public outreach process gathered input and suggestions on how to best improve the transportation needs of Santa Clara County. Through this process, a list of categories and transportation projects was approved, including a plan to invest $1.5 billion in Phase II of the BART Silicon Valley Extension. Measure B, which required a two thirds majority vote, was approved by voters by more than 71 percent of the vote and becomes effective in April 2017.

Joel Keller May 28, 2018 - 3:38 pm

Santa Clara County voters passed three sales tax increases to pay for the San Jose BART extension:

2000 Measure A
On August 9, 2000, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board of Directors voted to place a 30-year half-cent transit sales tax on the November 7, 2000 General Election ballot, giving Santa Clara County voters the opportunity to vote on transportation improvements in the county including construction of a BART Extension from Alameda County to Santa Clara County.

Measure A was approved by 70.3 percent of the voters and collection of the tax began in April 2006 to help fund design and construction of the BART Silicon Valley project.

2008 Measure B: Operation and Maintenance Funding
On November 4, 2008, an additional Santa Clara County ballot measure supporting the BART extension passed, receiving 66.78% of the vote, exceeding the two-thirds super majority. The 30-year eighth-cent Measure B sales tax will generate dedicated revenue to fulfill VTA’s obligation to BART for the operation, maintenance, and future capital reserve of the extension VTA constructs.

2008 Measure B stipulated that collection of the eighth-cent sales tax begin when federal and state funds were secured. Federal funds were considered secured and matched at the time VTA received a $900 million Full Funding Grant Agreement in March 2012. Collection of the eighth-cent sales tax began on July 1, 2012.

2016 Measure B

In June 2016, the VTA Board of Directors unanimously adopted the framework and funding amounts to place an additional ½-cent 30-year sales tax measure on the November 8, 2016 ballot to help fund transportation priorities. An extensive 18-month public outreach process gathered input and suggestions on how to best improve the transportation needs of Santa Clara County. Through this process, a list of categories and transportation projects was approved, including a plan to invest $1.5 billion in Phase II of the BART Silicon Valley Extension. Measure B, which required a two thirds majority vote, was approved by voters by more than 71 percent of the vote and becomes effective in April 2017.

M. Rose May 26, 2018 - 8:03 pm

Only 20 handicap parking spaces for all the customers of Tri Delta Transit and BART combined! Not very good planning to say the least. And as to “angry tax payer” comment, yes, we did get screwed!

Gloria May 28, 2018 - 4:55 am

How did they get away with this substandard system? Our taxes were for Bart not a fricken monorail into Disneyland!

Joel Keller May 28, 2018 - 12:10 pm

All of the residents of Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties have paid voter approved property taxes to build the original system, make seismic safety improvements and rebuild and modernize the system. All of the residents of the three counties pay a voter approved 1/2 cent sales tax to operate and maintain the system. In 2011, when the EIR for eBART was adopted, there was $502 million available from voter approved Measure J and voter approved measures !, 2 and 1B to build a rail extension to east county, far short of the $1.173 billion. I hope you were able to join us for the community celebration Friday and had a chance to ride the train. What did you think?

American Romance Equestrian May 28, 2018 - 8:02 am

It’s a good deal. No more driving on Highway 4; parking availability at Hillcrest remains to be seen. Ebart trains seem to be running on time except last night we had to wait; I can do without the bus bridge stuff but track repairs/maintenance has to get done. Anything to get cars off the highway is a good thing.

Adam McMeans May 29, 2018 - 9:16 am

We paid for a BART extension to Antioch. And we’ll continue to pay while they worsen the air quality for residents with their diesel train. This isn’t a reason to celebrate.

Joel Keller May 29, 2018 - 3:40 pm

Mr. McMeans, All of the residents of Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties have paid voter approved property taxes to build the original system, make seismic safety improvements and rebuild and modernize the system. All of the residents of the three counties pay a voter approved 1/2 cent sales tax to operate and maintain the system. In 2011, when the EIR for eBART was adopted, there was $502 million available from voter approved Measure J and voter approved measures !, 2 and 1B to build a rail extension to east county, far short of the $1.173 billion needed.

Adam McMeans May 29, 2018 - 9:19 am

Does anyone still remember Nello Bianco? I think it’s safe to say Joel Keller doens’t.
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/barts-broken-promise/Content?oid=1068966&showFullText=true

Joel Keller May 29, 2018 - 3:45 pm

Mr. McMeans, I am pleased that Nello was a friend and mentor who preceded me as the BART Director representing District 2. During a meeting toward the end of his tenure at BART, he asked me to run and complete his work of bringing BART to Antioch. I did.

Taxedout May 29, 2018 - 11:51 am

Therefore, vote no on prop 3. More taxes to BART and other wasteful agencies if you vote yes

Comments are closed.