Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is a rapid transit public transportation system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The heavy rail elevated and subway system connects San Francisco and Oakland with urban and suburban areas in Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties. BART serves 48 stations along six routes on 112 miles (180 km) of rapid transit lines, including a ten-mile spur line in eastern Contra Costa County which utilizes diesel multiple-unit trains and a 3.2-mile (5.1 km) automated guideway transit line to the Oakland International Airport. With an average of 423,000 weekday passengers and 124.2 million annual passengers in fiscal year 2017, BART is the fifth-busiest heavy rail rapid transit system in the United States. Map of the system What Makes the BART Unique: The BART of course is a heavy rail rapid transit system, which I think would make an interesting addition to Train Sim World. Now this seems highly unheard of since there has never been a heavy rail route in Train Simulator before and seems very unlikely since when we think of heavy rail, we're likely to think mostly underground subway trains. However, a portion of the BART is over ground with only 15 underground stations out of 48 total stations. Another thing that makes the BART unique is that it serves 2 major cities; San Francisco and Oakland (there's also plans to extend down to San Jose). Now I understand that the system is huge and probably won't completely fit into one route, if I were to pick a line to use as a route I would choose the Antioch-SFO/Millbrae Line. The reason I choose this line in case DTG can't fit the whole system is because it goes through different kinds of scenery such as from an urban environment into a more suburban environment, not only that but the line also goes through the famous Transbay Tube which is a tunnel that goes under the San Francisco Bay connecting both San Francisco and Oakland. The BART does not use standard gauge tracks unlike most American rapid transit systems, instead they utilize in 5 ft 6 gauge tracks which are common in countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Argentina. Transbay Tube Operations: The BART consists of 5 main lines; Antioch-SFO/Millbrae Line (Yellow), Richmond–Warm Springs/South Fremont line (Orange), Warm Springs/South Fremont–Daly City line (Green), Richmond–Daly City/Millbrae line (Red), and Dublin/Pleasanton–Daly City line (Blue). On weekdays after 6 PM and on weekends, both the Warm Springs/South Fremont–Daly City line and Richmond–Daly City/Millbrae line are out of service leaving only the other 3 lines taking over. Rolling Stock: There are currently 4 main sets of rolling stock on the BART, Rohr Class A, Class C units which were manufactured by both Alstom and Morrison-Knudsen, and Bombardier Class D. The Class A units are the oldest sets dating back to the late 60s, the Class C1 units date back to the 80s, and the Class D units just recently entered service in January 2018. Rohr Class A Alstom / Morrison-Knudsen Class C Bombardier Class D Conclusion: In my opinion, I feel that a heavy rail system like the BART would be a nice twist for Train Sim World (or Train Simulator). I'll be glad to hear what others have to say about this idea.
But you would just be sitting there as the Driver? The train is manually run by the Control Center. And the only way for BART to work is if we use South Fremont to San Jose extension where it's all manual for the time being. But even then where are the controls? I would love BART to be in TSW, but you're literally just sitting there or standing twiddling your fingers.
Valid point that BART is an ATO system, however, their trains are equipped with controls to operate in manual mode. DTG could create two operating modes - one in ATO, and the other in manual, which would be the primary mode. A simple story line such as "due to computer troubles at central control, trains are operating in manual mode...etc". The DC Metro is an ATO system which has been operating in manual mode for nearly a decade now - I dont see much difference between the two in this case.
My vision for how I think BART could be best routed in TSW is starting from Millbrae then (including SFO station which completes the short SFO-Milbrae line) up through SF, through West Oakland. Then the lines further north get all the way to Richmond completing the Richmond-Daly City/Millbrae Line, and the lines to the south reach to Coliseum. At Coliseum the line connects with the Amtrak lines that runs from through Oakland and San Jose. So for another DLC there can be a Oakland to San Jose Amtrak DLC that links up with the existing Caltrain line (could follow either the Amtrak Capital corridor alignment or the Amtrak Coast Starlight alignment), and this DLC also extends the BART line which runs directly and immediately alongside the Amtrak line for 85% of its southward journey to Warm Springs/South Fremont. This extension to the BART line completes the both Richmond-Warm Springs/South Fremont line and the Warm Springs/South Fremont-Daly City line.
Fantastic proposal! DTG would make money hand over fist with this. BART is a rail fan favorite, one of the more unique rapid rail systems in the US (given its blend of commuter rail and subway characteristics), and would be an incredibly fun, diverse, and original route to play. Your phased-in approach is well crafted and thought out - starting at Millbrae is a no-brainer, given they've built this out already in the Caltrain DLC. In addition, a large portion of Phase 1 runs underground, presenting less of a development hurdle, especially for the downtown SF / transbay through Oakland stretch. I genuinely hope that DTG takes this under serious consideration - this is a win through and through.
There is an unfortunate kind of nail in the coffin though. BART is automated with the "driver" only performing door actions and monitoring the line for obstacles. There is an option to drive it manually. Typically used in yard movements or in case of an abnormality. I guess those controls could be customised in a DLC so you have full function of the train but that would then be a fictionalised element in a simulator. Either way I do hope that DTG is considering some kind of big master plan thinking when it come to route/region development.
I think that's an easy workaround solved with a single story line - "due to system wide ATC failure, BART trains are being manually operated..etc." Boom. Problem solved.
I know this route suggestion is old but, this would be nice to see in TSW. I would love to see the Fleet of the Future rolling stock come with this DLC too.
Would be kind of funny if BART was made into a DLC, and the Niles Monorail was added in as an Easter egg.
Yes! we need North American subway routes. I started a thread for the MBTA but I'd be happy with this or any North American subway route