San Francisco transit agencies begin new rail-car testing

Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) this week began testing the first batch of its "Fleet of the Future" trains on mainline track during business hours.

The testing marks the first time the units will run during those hours on the mainline, although no passengers will be onboard, BART officials said in a press release.

The trains previously operated on test track and completed test runs during overnight hours without passenger trains running.

After testing is completed with this group of pilot trains, they'll be put into passenger service, and delivery of more trains will ramp up.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) tomorrow will begin testing new light-rail cars in its Muni Metro Subway system. The tests will continue through August 20.

The agency will shut down the subway system on weeknights and weekends to test the cars.

SFMTA previously tested the new units on street-level tracks

Photo – San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

Five new cars were delivered earlier this year and are being prepped to enter service by the end of the year, SFMTA officials said in a press release.

The agency already has tested the new cars on street-level tracks.