BART restricts Peninsula service for 55-hour cable installation | The Locally Times
Single-track operations between Millbrae, SFO, and San Bruno from July 31 to August 2 will cause 30-minute delays.
BART will restrict service to a single track between the Millbrae, San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and San Bruno stations for 55 hours starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, July 31, 2026. The agency scheduled the work to conclude at midnight on Sunday, August 2, to install nine miles of cable for the Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) system, the signaling technology that allows trains to operate at closer intervals. ## Service Disruptions Riders traveling through the Peninsula corridor should expect 10-to-15-minute delays for most of the weekend. BART records indicate that delays within the work area may reach 30 minutes on Saturday night. The agency will implement platform changes at the Millbrae and SFO stations to manage the single-track bottleneck. Commuters transferring to Caltrain at the Millbrae station may face longer walking distances due to these platform adjustments. BART plans to deploy additional staff and wayfinding signage at the affected stations during the construction period. ## Infrastructure Purpose The 55-hour closure is a requirement for the ongoing installation of the CBTC system on the Peninsula. This project replaces legacy signaling equipment to increase transbay capacity from 24 trains per hour per direction to 30 trains per hour per direction. The agency has not provided a specific completion date for the full system rollout, though it describes the current installation as the first leg of a multi-year effort. ## Overlapping Maintenance Schedules The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) scheduled separate maintenance projects on the T Third Line for the weekends of July 18-19 and July 25-26. During these periods, buses will replace trains between the 3rd Street and Evans Avenue station and the Bayshore Boulevard and Sunnydale Avenue station from 6 a.m. to midnight. The provided source material does not contain an integrated contingency plan for travelers using both the BART Peninsula corridor and the SFMTA T Third Line during these maintenance windows. ## Key Questions **How will this affect my travel to SFO or Millbrae?** Service will be restricted to one track, causing 10-to-15-minute delays most of the weekend and up to 30-minute delays on Saturday night. You should also expect platform changes and potentially longer walking distances when transferring to Caltrain at Millbrae. **Why is BART performing this work?** Crews are installing nine miles of cable for the new Communications-Based Train Control system, which is designed to increase capacity to 30 trains per hour and improve long-term system reliability.