New BART car delivery deadline delayed, again

After failing to pass a critical safety certification test, 2 Investigates has confirmed BART is forced to further postpone their already delayed schedule of putting 10 new trains in service.

In an e-mail, BART spokesperson Alicia Trost wrote “trains will not be in service by Thanksgiving as we originally hoped. We are now aiming for end of November/beginning of December.”
 
On November 6, 2017, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) sent a letter to BART’s general manager denying the trains from going in service after they failed a recent test-run. According to the letter, the ten-car lineup failed to recognize all the trains and only recognized three. In turn the Operator lost control of the passenger doors and was unable to open the doors at platform stops. 
 
BART is required to figure out the problem and solutions before invited the CPUC back for a test-run. Only after a successful test-run can the transit agencies put the cars in service.
 
BART says no date has been set yet for CPUC to do a second test-run. 
 
The new trains are made by Canadian maker Bombardier. In a special report, 2 Investigates uncovered years of problems with the supplier. From Toronto to New York to the Bay Area, project problems regarding delivery and quality spanned the continent. 
 
BART’s contract with Bombardier to make 775 new trains is worth $1.5 billion. The entire project, using public money, is slated at $2.5 billion.  
 
All of BART’s current cars are expected to expire by 2019.