BART And BMW: Trains To Get A Makeover From Luxury Car Company

Does anyone know how BMW feels about interior carpeting?

This is a serious question now that DesignworksUSA, a subsidiary of the German car manufacturer BMW, has won the contract to design the next generation of BART trains.

In a press release, even BART admitted the union is a little odd:

BART has worked for years to get folks out of their cars and onboard its trains. That’s why at first look, it might seem strange that BART is partnering with a subsidiary of one of the premier car companies in the world to create the Fleet of the Future, a new generation of train cars.

BART has the oldest fleet of train cars currently in operation of any transit system in the county--most original trains from when the system launched in 1972 are still in operation.

"The rail system uses a broad gauge rather than the standard gauge of most rail in the U.S., so cars must be custom-designed," CNET reported.

The agency is in the process of conducting "Seat Labs," where it solicits input from the public about what people would like to see in the new trains. One interesting finding from the sessions is that most riders would be willing to give up an inch or two of seat space in exchange for wider aisles. Data gathered from the labs will be folded into whatever concept the firm eventually settles on.

DesignworksUSA specializes in sleek, modernist designs and has worked on everything from a private jet for Boeing to a tractor for John Deere. (For the latter, the company won a number of industry awards.)

Most relevant for BART is the work the company did on the Deutsche Bahn: Innovation Train. It's worth taking a look at these pictures of the company's concept for the German train and applying it to BART.

An investigation by the Bay Citizen earlier this year found the interiors of BART's train cars to be teeming life. Disgusting, disgusting life:

Fecal and skin-borne bacteria resistant to antibiotics were found in a seat on a train headed from Daly City to Dublin/Pleasanton. Further testing on the skin-borne bacteria showed characteristics of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, the drug-resistant bacterium that causes potentially lethal infections, although Franklin cautioned that the MRSA findings were preliminary.

High concentrations of at least nine bacteria strains and several types of mold were found on the seat. Even after Franklin cleaned the cushion with an alcohol wipe, potentially harmful bacteria were found growing in the fabric.

The new train cars are expected to go into service sometime in 2017.

Comments

[smi2le]

11:41 AM on 07/27/2011

First fix all the broken escalators. One at the busiest BART station, Civic Center, has been out for two months!

[JimmyThaGreek]

01:36 PM on 07/21/2011

Wow where did that money come from??? 5 years of riding BART/MUNI to my college (CCAC) and I never saw any improvements until the recent news of BART Police selectively "removing" riders permanently with their side-arms.
Oh and Just FYI: BMW charges an arm and a leg for Premium Package, I'd go for the leather, it's durable and withstands all the bodily fliuds you can throw at it, They come in shades like Gangbanger's Bloodspatter Crimson and Vagrant's Fecal-Matter-Taupe.

[Trudy Trejo]

01:29 PM on 07/21/2011

Maybe BWM can put some swastikas on the BART and let the BART cops wear gestapo uniforms. That would make those BART cops that like to shoot black people feel right at home.

[WILLIEMOJORISIN]

01:05 PM on 07/21/2011

Wonderful , more American dollars going overseas

[gatos1014]

12:44 PM on 07/21/2011

BART needs a makeover of their police from the Dalai Lama.

[jasCA]

11:28 AM on 07/21/2011

monies spent to redesign cars?...just improve on-time performance, extend hrs. operation, remove tazzers

[DwH]

11:15 AM on 07/21/2011

2017? Any chance of steamcleaning the seats before then?
Kudos to BART for working with BMW: terrific design team.

[songchannels]

10:46 AM on 07/21/2011

Glad they're doing this, it's like riding something from the 1970's era. Really disgusting and unacceptable.

[BobABooey]

10:45 AM on 07/21/2011

Let's hope they figure out how to make the trains a little less noisy. I mean BART has caused some hearing damage over the years for sure. European trains should certainly be the model, smooth and quiet.

[The Dude67]

09:31 AM on 07/21/2011

DesignworksUSA?

I haven't seen a name that misleading since The Federal Reserve.

[Jafafa Hots]

05:31 AM on 07/21/2011

They've started stripping out the carpeting in some old cars and replacing it with that painted on easy to clean rubbery flooring. Makes sense.

[ligligl]

04:54 AM on 07/21/2011

Oh goodie! BART and American Aiorlines just outsourced two huge contracts. Now all they have to do is figure out how to get the Europeans toi ride them. 'cause Americans shouldn't... But we will...

[DwH]

11:19 AM on 07/21/2011

Perhaps if American companies produced anywhere near the kind of rail and air vehicles we will need in the future, we would have won those contracts. But with further rightwing federal and local cuts in technology and education, expect to be walking if you insist on boycotting these carriers.

[WILLIEMOJORISIN]

01:08 PM on 07/21/2011

Huh ? what heck you talking about ?

[mskermit]

02:09 AM on 07/21/2011

Finally Bart needs new trains badly.

[ekwii]

12:30 AM on 07/21/2011

I don't mind standing during my rides on BART. Those cushioned seats - yuck! I would hope the new trains will run quieter on the tracks, especially while crossing the transbay tunnel.

[Phemale]

11:31 PM on 07/20/2011

It's the F1lthy BART L.E.O. that needs the make-over.