The Blue Line is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) line in the San Francisco Bay Area that runs between Dublin/Pleasanton station and Daly City station. It has 18 stations in Dublin, Pleasanton, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Oakland, San Francisco, and Daly City.

 B  Blue Line
Daly City-bound train west of Dublin/Pleasanton station in May 2018
Overview
OwnerSan Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
LocaleTri-Valley, East Bay, San Francisco Peninsula
Termini
Stations18
Service
TypeRapid transit
SystemBay Area Rapid Transit
History
OpenedMay 10, 1997 (1997-05-10)
Technical
Line length35.7 mi (57.5 km)
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
ElectrificationThird rail, 1 kV DC
Operating speed70 mph (110 km/h)[1]
Route map
Map Blue Line highlighted in blue
Valley Link
2027
West Dublin/​Pleasanton
Parking
Castro Valley
Parking
Bay Fair
Parking
transfer
San Leandro
Parking
 OAK  Oakland International Airport
enlarge… Coliseum
Amtrak Parking
Fruitvale
Parking
Lake Merritt
Parking
 O  to Richmond
 Y  to Antioch,  R  to Richmond
West Oakland
Parking
Embarcadero San Francisco Ferry Building
Montgomery Street
Powell Street
Civic Center/​UN Plaza
16th Street Mission
24th Street Mission
Glen Park Parking |
‹See TfM›Balboa Park
Daly City
Parking
 Y  R  to SFO/Millbrae

Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible

The Blue Line shares much of its track with other BART services. The eastern segment which is unique to it is located in the median of Interstate 580, as are its three unique stations of Castro Valley, West Dublin/Pleasanton, and Dublin/Pleasanton.

History

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Of BART's five primary rapid transit services, the Blue Line was the most recent to open. Service began when the Dublin/Pleasanton extension opened on May 10, 1997.[2] The West Dublin/​Pleasanton infill station was added to the line on February 19, 2011.[3]

SFO/Millbrae extension service

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September 2005 BART map showing only the Dublin/Pleasanton line operating south of Daly City

When the SFO/Millbrae extension opened on June 22, 2003, BART extended the Blue Line to SFO. BART truncated the Blue Line back to Daly City and rerouted the Yellow Line to San Francisco International Airport in its place on February 9, 2004. San Mateo County is not a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, so SamTrans funded the county's BART service. When the extension's lower-than-expected ridership caused SamTrans to accrue deficits, BART agreed to SamTrans' request to operate only this line south of Daly City effective September 12, 2005.

SamTrans and BART reached an agreement in February 2007 in which SamTrans would transfer control and financial responsibility of the SFO/Millbrae extension to BART, in return for BART receiving additional fixed funding from SamTrans and other sources.[4] BART has since again increased service south of Daly City, but this line now terminates at Daly City.

Blue Line's south-of-Daly City service
Date of change Service pattern
June 22, 2003 Daly City–SFO[5]
February 9, 2004 none[6]
September 12, 2005 Daly City–SFO/Millbrae[7]
January 1, 2008 Daly City–Millbrae (evenings/weekends)[8]
September 14, 2009 none[9]

2019–2022 changes

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MacArthur-bound train at 19th Street Oakland in February 2019

On February 11, 2019, the Blue Line began operating between MacArthur station and Dublin/Pleasanton station on Sundays. The change was to allow single-tracking in the Market Street subway during electrical work, with only the Yellow Line running through the Transbay Tube to serve San Francisco.[10]

Sunday service to San Francisco and Daly City resumed on February 16, 2020. From February 16, 2020 to September 13, 2020, and again from March 22, 2021 to August 1, 2021, trains terminated at Montgomery station during single-tracking work.[11][12] From September 14, 2020 to March 21, 2021, and again from August 2, 2021 onwards, trains terminate at 24th Street Mission during single-tracking work.[13][14]

Stations

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Station Jurisdiction County Opened Other BART lines
Dublin/​Pleasanton Dublin / Pleasanton Alameda May 10, 1997
West Dublin/​Pleasanton February 19, 2011
Castro Valley Castro Valley May 10, 1997
Bay Fair San Leandro September 11, 1972  G  Green Line
 O  Orange Line
San Leandro
Coliseum Oakland  OAK  Oakland Airport Connector
 G  Green Line
 O  Orange Line
Fruitvale  G  Green Line
 O  Orange Line
Lake Merritt
West Oakland September 16, 1974  G  Green Line
 R  Red Line
 Y  Yellow Line
Embarcadero San Francisco May 27, 1976
Montgomery Street November 5, 1973
Powell Street
Civic Center/​UN Plaza
16th Street Mission
24th Street Mission
Glen Park
Balboa Park
Daly City Daly City San Mateo

References

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  1. ^ "BART Sustainable Communities Operations Analysis" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "BART Chronology January 1947 – March 2009" (PDF). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "Ceremony to commemorate new West Dublin/Pleasanton Station planned for Feb. 18". Bay Area Rapid Transit. January 28, 2011. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  4. ^ "BART-SFO Settlement Agreement and Release of Claims" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Commission. February 14, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 12, 2009.
  5. ^ Cabanatuan, Michael (April 18, 2003). "BART to link to SFO June 22 / After many delays, latest date is firm, transit officials say". San Francisco Chronicle.
  6. ^ Cabanatuan, Michael (February 7, 2004). "BART changing schedule so more go to SFO / Peninsula ridership below expectations, needs a boost". San Francisco Chronicle.
  7. ^ Murphy, Dave (August 11, 2005). "PENINSULA / BART to airport to be cut / Weekend trains to be kept on Peninsula". San Francisco Chronicle.
  8. ^ Gordon, Rachel (December 9, 2007). "BART to raise fares, increase train frequency starting Jan. 1". San Francisco Chronicle.
  9. ^ "Off-peak service reductions began Monday, September 14th" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. September 15, 2009.
  10. ^ "February 11 schedule change impacts weekdays and Sundays" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. January 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "New Sunday service plan to begin in February" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. November 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "BART schedule change begins March 22, 2021" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. March 16, 2021.
  13. ^ "BART schedule change beginning Sept 14th increases weekday commute service" (Press release). San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. September 8, 2020.
  14. ^ "BART returns to near-regular service starting 8/2/21 | bart.gov". www.bart.gov. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
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