On November 1, 2018, we will close permanently the entrance to Civic Center Station that is in front of the Hotel Whitcomb at the corner of 8th and Market Street. We will start this process by taking the escalator at this entrance out of service the week of October 15, so it can be dismantled, then close off the stairs on November 1 so there is no access to this entrance.

Please see the map below for alternate entrances or click here for a .pdf. You can check escalator status here and elevator status here before heading to the station.

Looking towards the near future, BART needs to install a new traction power substation at Civic Center as part of our Measure RR rebuilding efforts and strategies to increase capacity into and out of the city. New substations, along with upgrades to our train control system and a new fleet of rail cars will allow BART to increase peak capacity by 40% through the Transbay Tube. We currently run 24 trains per hour in each direction through the Transbay Tube, these planned improvements will enable us to increase to 30 trains per hour.

We studied possible locations of the new substations extensively and reached the conclusion that the west end of the concourse level of the Civic Center station is the only place where the new substation can go. Therefore, we will permanently close this entrance (in addition to the already closed entrance that was in front of Burger King) to accommodate the new traction power substation equipment. Construction will start in early 2019 on parts of the traction power system in this station.

The first step of the process will be to install the 34.5kv power cable that will supply traction power. As this cable is very powerful and working with it is dangerous, the entire work area at this end of the station must be barricaded for the safety of our customers before installation begins.

Though the station will lose two entrances, there are others still available that are located much closer to the platform, fare gates, and ticket vending machines. Customers will gain the benefits of more frequent and more reliable service when the new substation is completed.

We understand that this will be an inconvenience for you. We appreciate your patience

