ON JANUARY 14, San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit District unveiled the first three of 439 Rohr cars to be remanufactured by Adtranz in Pittsburg, under a $454m contract due to be completed in 2002. Built more than 25 years ago, the cars are being converted from DC to AC traction motors, with refurbished bogies, brakes, couplers and suspensions. Ventilation, communications and fault monitoring systems have been replaced, and the interiors renewed. Some of the slant-nosed A driving cars are being converted to B cars for greater flexibility.
BART is to spend $45m to replace ticket machines and fare gates at its 34 original stations, and add extra machines at busy stations. Equipment for the four stations on its airport extension, to be supplied by Cubic Transportation Systems by 2001, will accept smart cards.
- Kiewit Pacific Co won a $41m contract for infrastructure work on the 80 km Caltrain commuter rail line in January. This includes replacement of 15·1 km of track with concrete sleepers and continuously welded rail. Separately, work began in January on a new $9m Caltrain station and bus interchange at San Mateo, replacing temporary premises used since the Southern Pacific station was pulled down in 1974.
