Dublin/Pleasanton–Millbrae line

Infobox rail line
name = Dublin/Pleasanton - Millbrae Line
color = 0099CC


image_width =
caption =
type = rapid transit
system = Bay Area Rapid Transit
status =
locale = Bay Area including Dublin, Pleasanton, Castro Valley, San Leandro, Oakland, San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, and Millbrae
"by county: Alameda, San Francisco and San Mateo"
start = Dublin/Pleasanton
end = Daly City (Weekdays Daytime), Millbrae (Weeknights, and Weekends/Holidays)
stations = 21
routes =
ridership =
open = May 10, 1997
close =
owner =
operator = BART
character =
stock =
linelength =
tracklength =
notrack =
gauge = RailGauge|5ft6in (broad)
el = third rail
speed =
elevation = underground, elevated, at grade, underwater (Transbay Tube)

BART Blue Line|

The Dublin/Pleasanton - Millbrae Line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in the San Francisco Bay Area consists of 22 metro stations from Dublin and Pleasanton to Millbrae. It passes through Castro Valley, San Leandro, Oakland, San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, and Millbrae. During weekdays from opening until about 7 PM, this line uses Daly City as its southern terminal. Service from Daly City to Millbrae is provided by the Richmond – Millbrae Line during that time.

BART lines are usually not referred to by the color that identifies them on official system maps, thus, this line is rarely called the Blue Line. However, the term has been used by BART officials, most notably when announcing the service changes of September 12, 2005 in the BART Times newsletter. It is usually called the Dublin/Pleasanton Line.

Infill station under construction

The West Dublin/Pleasanton station will be located in the median of I-580 just west of the I-680 interchange between the Castro Valley and Dublin/Pleasanton stations. Construction estimates for this station are US$100 million, with funding coming from a unique public-private partnership and transit-oriented development (TOD) project on adjacent BART-owned property. Construction on the station began in October 2006, and is slated for completion in 2009. [Citation
title = West Dublin/Pleasanton Infill Station
url = http://www.bart.gov/docs/planning/WEST%20DUBLIN.pdf
accessdate = 2007-06-13]

SamTrans controversy

When BART officially opened an extension of the line to the San Francisco International Airport on June 22, 2003, the Dublin/Pleasanton line was the only BART line that served the airport. On February 9, 2004, in order to attract more riders, BART truncated this line back to Daly City in favor of using two other lines that generally carried more passengers to serve the airport: the Richmond - Daly City Line and the Pittsburg/Bay Point Line. However, at the urging of SamTrans (San Mateo County Transit District), which paid the operating expenses for the SFO extension under the joint venture operating agreement then in force, BART announced on August 11, 2005 that trains from Dublin/Pleasanton would once again be the only ones that would travel to the airport. [Citation
last = Cabanatuan
first = Michael
title = BART's directors approve plan to trim service to S.F. airport
newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle
pages = B4
year = 2005
date = 2005-08-12
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/12/BAGV9E6VFG1.DTL] SamTrans' assertion of its right to regulate San Mateo service also caused tension in early 2006 when BART, without informing SamTrans, unilaterally extended trains from six to eight or nine cars in order to serve increasing ridership on the East Bay section of the Dublin/Pleasanton line. SamTrans, which was not given the opportunity to exercise its veto power, refused to pay the extra expense of operating additional cars. SamTrans also once considered discontinuing weekend service to the San Bruno and South San Francisco stations, which were suffering from extremely low ridership. In February 2007, SamTrans and BART settled their disputes with a new agreement. Under the new agreement, SamTrans would give up control and the financial responsibility of the line in San Mateo County to BART. In return, BART would receive additional funding from San Mateo County and other sources. [http://apps.mtc.ca.gov/meeting_packet_documents/agenda_807/3d_MTC-BART-SamTrans_Settlement_Agreement.pdf]

References