BART Fleet of the Future project to come in $394 million under budget

Bay Area Rapid Transit’s (BART) Fleet of the Future project is expected to come in $394 million under budget. The agency notes a revised schedule and an accelerated monthly delivery rate of the new rail cars is what led to the project coming in under budget.  

“There’s no question the Fleet of the Future project is a success story,” said Fleet of the Future Project Manager John Garnham. “Riders love the newer, cleaner modern feel of the cars and now we have great budget news for the project.” 

The original contract awarded for 775 cars in 2012 forecast a project cost of $2.58 billion but an October 2023 financial update lowered the forecast by 15 percent to $2.19 billion. During the course of 11 years, BART and the manufacturer, Alstom, have increased the pace of making and delivering the cars, resulting in significant savings. The original delivery schedule called for the delivery of 10 cars a month but BART worked with Alstom to increase the rate to 16 cars a month, saving more than $100 million. 

BART says another big cost saver was its decision to have its own highly experienced staff do more of the engineering work in house. The project team has included engineers who have successfully completed new rail car projects at other agencies. 

The delivery schedule for the project now includes 20 cars a month being delivered to BART. As of Dec. 31, 2023, 672 of the 775 cars are on BART property.