Red Line (BART)
| Company type | Rapid transit line |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | April 1976 |
Area served | San Francisco Bay Area |
| Products | Rapid transit service |
| Website | www |
Red Line
The Red Line is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) route operating within the San Francisco Bay Area, connecting Richmond to Millbrae station and passing through San Francisco International Airport station. It serves a total of 24 stations, linking prominent communities such as Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, and Millbrae. This line shares its tracks with four other principal BART services.
Since February 14, 2022, the Red Line runs daily until 9 p.m. Outside these operating hours, the Orange and Yellow Lines provide coverage. Passengers can conveniently transfer across platforms at and stations to ensure smooth connections and efficient passenger movement.
Service history
The Red Line was the fourth among BART’s five main rapid transit lines to commence operations. Its initial limited service between and started in April 1976, with full-day service beginning on July 7, 1980, following enhancements in train scheduling through the Transbay Tube.
In response to growing ridership, weekday service hours were extended from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on September 10, 2012, and later further prolonged to 9 p.m. on September 14, 2015.
SFO/Millbrae extension service
Upon the inauguration of the SFO/Millbrae extension on June 22, 2003, the Red Line continued to terminate at . On February 9, 2004, BART expanded Red Line operations during weekday peak periods to reach both and . Since San Mateo County lies outside BART’s jurisdiction, this service was financially supported by SamTrans. Due to ridership falling below expectations, SamTrans requested that only the Blue Line serve areas south of Daly City starting September 12, 2005.
In February 2007, operational control and funding responsibility for the SFO/Millbrae extension were transferred from SamTrans to BART in exchange for fixed additional funding from SamTrans and other sources.
On March 22, 2021, Red Line trains began interlining with the Purple Line, leading to the suspension of Saturday service. Service resumed on weekdays and Saturdays until 9 p.m. starting August 2, 2021, with all trains extended to SFO. By February 20, 2022, daily service until 9 p.m. was reinstated. During some Sundays in early 2022, Yellow Line trains replaced Red Line service to Millbrae due to ongoing power cable replacement work.
A power cable failure near Berkeley on March 6, 2022 temporarily halted Red Line operations; shuttle buses covered the route between SFO and Millbrae until reduced-length train service resumed on March 22 and full-length trains returned by early May. Similarly, a cable break near Richmond on June 17 caused two days of cancellations; limited service recommenced on June 20 supplemented by shuttle buses.
As of September 11, 2023, Red Line trains operate between Richmond and Millbrae via SFO.
| Date of change | Service pattern |
|---|---|
| June 22, 2003 | none |
| February 9, 2004 | Daly City–SFO/Millbrae (weekday peak hours) SFO station served only by northbound trains |
| September 13, 2004 | Daly City–SFO/Millbrae (weekday peak hours) |
| September 12, 2005 | none |
| January 1, 2008 | Daly City–Millbrae (weekdays) |
| August 2, 2021 | Daly City–SFO via Millbrae (weekdays and Saturdays) |
| February 14, 2022 | Daly City–SFO via Millbrae |
| September 11, 2023 | Daly City–Millbrae via SFO |
Stations
| Station | Municipality | County | Inauguration Date | Additional BART Lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Bart | Richmond | Contra Costa | January 29, 1973 | Template:Ric |
| Template:Bart | El Cerrito | |||
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| Template:Bart | Berkeley | Alameda | ||
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| Template:Bart | Oakland | September 11, 1972 | Template:Ric Template:Ric | |
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| Template:Bart | September 16, 1974 | Template:Ric Template:Ric Template:Ric | ||
| Template:Bart | San Francisco | May 27, 1976 | ||
| Template:Bart | November 5, 1973 | |||
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| Template:Bart | Daly City, California | San Mateo County, California | ||
| Template:Bart | Colma, California | February 24, 1996 | Template:Ric | |
| Template:Bart | South San Francisco, California | June 22, 2003 | ||
| Template:Bart | San Bruno, California | |||
| San Francisco International Airport | San Francisco International Airport
(SFO) |
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