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BART Wants to Turn Old Trains into Coffee Shops & Art Works

In 2022, BART is retiring old cars and wants you to help give them a new life
By - posted 9/11/2020 No Comment

BART will be giving the public a chance to have a part of BART history and help in this circle of train car life.

The general public a chance to extend the lives of decommissioned train cars in creative and innovative ways. Some initial expressions of interest that have been received include proposals to use old BART cars as museum exhibits, coffee shops, and independent artworks.

Learn More: View PDF brochure about giving new life to retired BART trains.

An iconic part of the Bay Area’s history, these retired rail cars have carried riders since the 1970s. Now, as more and more Fleet of the Future cars arrives, BART wants to ensure a responsible, sustainable future use for the rest of the old cars’ lives. 

The majority of old cars will be recycled. Parts are stripped, the shell is shredded, and the metal is melted down for reuse in other products.

But starting in January 2021, a call for proposals will offer some of the cars to the public. A project selection committee will review applications and make selections based on proposals meeting all the required criteria, including a plan for their final disposition after the project use is done. Cars will be delivered to their new owners in 2022.

One of the key criteria is that any projects be cost-neutral to BART and relieve BART of future liability. That means whoever’s projects are chosen must shoulder the costs of getting the train car from BART’s property to your own, including transportation fees (rental of a flatbed truck and mileage), crane rental to offload the car, labor, and other expenses, estimated to run $8,000- $10,000 per car.

For more information visit www.bart.gov/legacycars or email legacycars@bart.gov.

Vehicle Acquisition Guidelines

  • Image and heritage: Proposal must have a positive impact on BART’s brand and must not bring reproach upon the District or other entities or persons.
  • Environment and sustainability: Proposal must have minimal impact on the environment, meet local ordinances, codes and required reviews and permitting and must include a plan for the final disposal of the vehicle.
  • Quality of concept: Proposal must be fully detailed with objectives and the target market/audience clearly identified; the project must be both feasible and achievable.
  • Guarantee of project delivery: Proposal must reflect the bidder’s clear understanding of all parameters, solid framework for the project, as well as financial and technical ability to carry out the project.
  • Timing and logistics: Proposal’s time frame and deployment must take into consideration the availability of the decommissioned cars.
  • Ultimate Disposal:  Proposal must include how the vehicles will be ultimately disposed of, upon end of life.
  • Community Benefits:  Special consideration will be provided to proposals that include community benefits, and/or creativity of reuse, and/or alignment to the celebration of transit.

Cost Considerations

Projects must be cost-neutral to BART and relieve BART of future liability. A peer review of other agencies show all costs are covered by the purchaser.

Costs include:

  • Transportation fees (rental of truck and mileage to final destination)
  • BART labor cost of prepping car and loading onto the truck
  • Cost of offloading car from flat bed and final positioning (large crane required)
  • Insurance (depends on ultimate use of vehicle)
  • Estimated to run about $8,000-$10,000 per car