Security cameras on all BART cars by next year

A fake security camera can be seen with a flashing red light as people ride a BART train headed toward Pittsburg/Bay Point station from San Francisco Jan. 13, 2015, near Oakland, Calif. BART officials plan to outfit each of the system’s 669 cars with working security cameras but the work apparently may not be done until late in 2017. less A fake security camera can be seen with a flashing red light as people ride a BART train headed toward Pittsburg/Bay Point station from San Francisco Jan. 13, 2015, near Oakland, Calif. BART officials plan to ... more Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Security cameras on all BART cars by next year 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

BART’s promise to equip each of the 669 railcars in its current fleet with working security cameras won’t be fulfilled until 2017, say officials for the transit system.

BART vowed to install additional video surveillance cameras after The Chronicle revealed in January that the majority of what look like security cameras on its trains are empty housings designed to fool and deter wrongdoers. The revelation came after BART police, investigating a fatal on-train shooting, said they were unable to retrieve usable video from a camera near the incident.

A subsequent outcry from riders prompted BART officials to say they would replace the decoys in 470 cars that lack real cameras and repair an additional 48 cameras that weren’t working. The transit agency estimated the cost at $1.4 million but repeatedly declined to predict when the work would be completed.

On Monday, a BART spokeswoman said the new cameras probably won’t be up and working until next year.

Engineers tested several systems over the past few months before selecting one that remains installed and operating on two cars, spokeswoman Alicia Trost said. The final design has been completed, and the transit system is seeking bids on the parts needed to install the cameras on all trains. The estimated cost of the cameras and parts is $500,000.

The Board of Directors will be asked to award a contract by early September, Trost said, and installation will begin as soon as the parts arrive later this year. Crews that monitor video for BART are being trained on the new system.

“But it will take time to install,” Trost said. “The job won’t be done until next year.”

BART is replacing its aging 669-car fleet and expanding it to 775 cars. All of the new cars — scheduled to arrive between 2017 and 2021 — will be outfitted with a modern surveillance camera system capable of providing live video that can be monitored, officials said.

BART first installed the cameras, and the decoys, in 1998 to stop vandals who were etching graffiti into the trains’ windows and committing other low-level crimes. Eighty were initially installed in a pilot program, and more were added in 2000.

The on-train cameras were regarded as a success in deterring vandals, BART officials said, but they’ve been less effective in helping solve more serious crimes such as the Jan. 9 slaying of 19-year-old Carlos Misael Funez-Romero of Antioch. The case remains unsolved despite a $10,000 reward and video footage of the suspect fleeing the West Oakland Station after the shooting.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan