BART is about to spend as much money on new rail cars as the new 49ers stadium.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit Agency has announced it has chosen which company will get the $1 billion contract to provide 260 new rail cars. The new Santa Clara stadium also comes with a $1 billion price tag.
The new rail cars come with easy-to-clean seats, a much more modern look, and three entry doors for speedier entry and departure, according to BART.
BART's rail cars are the oldest in the country, having been in service for 40 years.
You can turn that number to 50 years by the time 260 new cars are ready to roll. The first tester cars are due to hit the Bay Area rails until 2015 and the full fleet is several more years out. And that billion dollar price tag will replace fewer than half of the 669 car fleet,
The 260 cars would be paid for with $870 million in regional funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and money from BART's budget.
