This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
1/27/2021
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) yesterday announced it will install denser air filters throughout its rail-car fleet following a successful pilot of the air filtration technology.
In August 2020, BART installed higher-grade, denser air filter panels to trap smaller particles compared to its standard filters, which had a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) of 8. The new MERV-14 filters capture particles between .3 and 1 microns compared to the old filters that capture particles between 3 and 10 microns, BART officials said in a press release.
The MERV-14 filters are now being incorporated into inventory and purchasing systems. They’ll be installed on every car as it goes into the shop for its scheduled preventive maintenance, BART officials said.
The filters on the BART rail system are in the heating and air conditioning unit underneath each train car, and help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, BART officials said.
The San Francisco Bay Area transit agency is also testing an ultraviolet UV-C lighting rod inside an HVAC unit that can kill a virus, and small robots that can spray disinfectant on and vacuum trains when they're out of service.