Close the BART car doors, HAL.

September 29, 2005 3:50 PM

Has BART ever operated regularly without drivers?

When I was a kid, BART was widely popularized as being computer-controlled, and was touted as being able to run without on-train operators. Having recently moved to the Bay Area, I find it somewhat strange that every BART does in fact have drivers, even though it's pretty clear from the way that the drivers hang out of the cars at the stations that the trains are accelerating and decelerating at the station on their own. Googling didn't help -- it's clear that BART can run on its own, but it's not clear if they've ever run it this way.

posted by eschatfische to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

That's a really good question. I have heard, as I am sure many other regular riders have, that the only reason there are drivers is due to the strength of the drivers' union; whether there has been a time when trains have run without them, though, I do not know.

You would think that the idea of a drivers' strike over negotiations - in the most recent case, over health benefits - should not have been so daunting to BART administrators and riders if the trains were perfectly able to run without operators.
posted by luriete at 4:37 PM on September 29, 2005

I don't think it was ever computer "driven", but I think computers do the bulk of the switching:

from answers.com

Automation and ghost trains

BART was the first US system of any size to operate substantially under automation. The trains are computer-controlled via BART's Operations Control Center (OCC) at the Lake Merritt station and headquarters, and generally arrive with regular punctuality. Train operators are present to make announcements, close doors, and operate the train in case of unforeseen difficulties.

A fairly common problem with the automation is the appearance of "ghost trains," trains that show on the computer system as being in a specific place, but don't physically exist. Under such circumstances, trains must be operated manually and are restricted to a speed of 25 mph (~40 km/h). Such system artifacts are usually cleared quickly enough to avoid significant delay, but occassionally some can cause an extended backup of manually operated trains in the system.[1] (http://www.foxreno.com/news/4204326/detail.html)

As a first generation system, BART's automation was plagued with numerous operational problems during its first years of service. Shortly before revenue service began an on-board electronics failure caused one empty 2-car test train, dubbed the “Fremont Flyer” to run off the end of the platform at its namesake station into a parking lot (there were no injuries). When revenue service began, “ghost trains” were common and real trains could, at times, disappear from the system. During this shakedown period there were several embarrassing episodes where trains had to be manually run and signaled via station agents communicating by phone. This caused a great outcry in the press and led to a flurry of litigation among some of the original controls contractors, but in time these problems were resolved and BART became a reliable service.

posted by fishfucker at 4:37 PM on September 29, 2005

even though it's pretty clear from the way that the drivers hang out of the cars

Are you sure those are the drivers? In New York's subway (and on the PATH light rail, which is probably more analogous to BART) there are usually two crewmembers on every train, an engineer actually driving the train from the front, and a conductor whose job is actually to look out the window as a train enters the station (I assume to monitor platform activity) and make announcements and all that good stuff.

Sorry if this is only tangential to your question, but if you are actually seeing the conductors than it might indicate the trains are completely human-driven (even though the switching is automatic; I think most systems these days use computer-driven switching/signaling systems).
posted by cyrusdogstar at 7:20 PM on September 29, 2005

Nope, BART trains usually only have a single operator. Although sometimes there's a BART cop or two hanging around.

I did, in the late 1980s, see a BART operator sleep from the West Oakland station all the way through 3 or 4 San Francisco stations and wake up around Mission. I was sitting in the front car and you can see into the compartment from certain positions.
posted by luriete at 7:37 PM on September 29, 2005

but it's not clear if they've ever run it this way.

No, BART has never run trains without operators. I think there was some hope when the system was in its planning stages that this would be possible, but in fact computer problems (in the early days) and safety concerns (for example, drivers can control when the doors close) resulted in not trying to run these trains without operators.

Plus, the trains had lots of mechanical problems in the first couple of years (untried vendor, new technology, an incredible number of moving parts, etc.), so having an operator on-board to trouble-shoot (or, worst case, inform passengers that the train was going out of service) was pretty important.
posted by WestCoaster at 9:27 PM on September 29, 2005