FREMONT — After several years of delay, BART’s new Warm Springs station will be open for business March 25, agency officials said Friday.

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Man’s excursion onto BART tracks ends in arrest BART Director Tom Blalock, whose district serves Fremont, said he was “elated” and called the opening “history in the making.”

“It’s a long-sought project,” Blalock said. “It will do more to relieve peak-hour jamming on 680 and 880 freeways than anything else that is coming up.”

The transit agency initially planned to open the station in 2014, but a series of delays pushed the expected opening to the fall of 2016. Then there were issues with track cables during the final weeks of testing, delaying the project for several more months while workers replaced power transmission infrastructure in various places and made software modifications, according to the agency.

BART officials approved the 5.4-mile track extension in 2007, but the station had been contemplated since BART was first built. The agency broke the project into two stages, carving out a subway underneath Fremont’s Central Park and then building the tracks and station in South Fremont.

The city of Fremont is also investing in a major development project near the station, dubbed the “Innovation District,” that is anchored by Tesla and other technology companies and will include thousands of units of new housing. Raj Salwan, a Fremont City Council member, said residents have been waiting patiently for the station.

“The unknown was what was causing a lot of angst within the community,” Salwan said of the repeated delays. “A lot of people want to see it before they believe it, but it’s definitely exciting. I think it will be a great opportunity for Fremont.”

Many of his constituents in the South Fremont area had described to him the trouble of trying to get to the Fremont BART station early only to find the parking lots full, he said. He’s hopeful the Warm Springs station will offer some relief.

The new station will have more than 2,000 parking spaces, along with 42 electric car charging stations and bus connections to AC Transit and VTA routes.

It also paves the way for an East Bay to Silicon Valley connection. BART is working with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority to open service at its new Berryessa station scheduled to open later this year.

Some 6,000 new daily weekday trips are expected to be added to the entire system once fare gates open at the new Warm Springs station, with ridership expected to start slow and then gain speed over the first few years. BART added several new train cars on the Fremont line to accommodate the additional passengers.

The agency will host an opening celebration on Friday, March 24 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Warm Springs/South Fremont station, located at 45193 Warm Springs Blvd. in Fremont. Shuttles from the Fremont station will be provided for the celebration.

Staff writer Joseph Geha contributed to this story.