Service Advisory: Bay Bridge Closed Aug. 28 – Sep. 3, 2013

Priscilla Kalugdan CC Rail Mail & Newsletters, News Archive, Service Alerts

Bay Bridge Closure Will Suspend Bus Service to/from San Francisco

From 8pm on Wednesday, August 28 and continuouslythrough 5am on Tuesday, September 3, 2013, Caltrans will close the Bay Bridge to take the old East Span out of service and open the new East Span to traffic. Due to the Bay Bridge closure, Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains will NOT have bus connections between Emeryville and San Francisco in either direction.

Passengers traveling to/from San Francisco should transfer at the Richmond Amtrak/BART Station to a San Francisco-bound Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train. Passengers will be responsible for paying the appropriate BART fare. In San Francisco, passengers can use public transit to travel to their destinations, as noted below.

Capitol Corridor Multi-ride ticket holders with San Francisco as their point of origin or destination may use SF multi-ride tickets to originate eastbound at Oakland Jack London Square Station, or westbound to end their trip at Oakland Jack London Square Station in order to transfer to/from the San Francisco Bay Ferry. Passengers must purchase their own tickets on ferry boats from the San Francisco Bay Ferry agency.

Capitol Corridor & San Joaquin Westbound Travel: Getting to San Francisco (SF)

There will be no motorcoach bus service to/from San Francisco, or within San Francisco from August 28 – September 3, 2013. During this time, passengers wishing to travel to San Francisco will need to utilize BART.

  • Passengers can purchase a BART ticket on board from the Café Car attendant, or from a BART ticket vending machine at any BART station.
  • Offboard at Richmond Amtrak/BART station
    • Go downstairs into Richmond Amtrak/BART station
    • With your BART fare card, enter BART fare gates, and then proceed upstairs to board a BART train either bound for San Francisco Airport or San Francisco-Millbrae.
    • BART trains to SF run approximately every 20-30 minutes.
    • You may also use a Fremont-bound train and make a cross platform connection at MacArthur Station in Oakland for a San Francisco bound train

Capitol Corridor & San Joaquin Eastbound Travel: Departing SF to connect to trains in Richmond

Please allow extra time for transfers in this direction as travel on BART to the Richmond station is 40 minutes longer than regular train/bus service to Emeryville. You will be meeting regularly scheduled Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin trains.

  • Passengers may board BART at any other stop at their own expense
  • Passengers should board BART trains heading for Richmond in order to connect with Capitol Corridor or San Joaquin trains at that station.

Note: When utilizing BART westbound from Richmond to San Francisco some schedules require a transfer at BART’s MacArthur Station in Oakland. For example if you depart Richmond on a Fremont-bound BART train, you must transfer at MacArthur to a San Francisco Airport bound train.

When traveling eastbound from San Francisco to Richmond, board a Richmond-bound BART train. You may also board a Pittsburg/Bay Point BART train; however you will need to transfer to a Richmond-bound BART train at the 19th Street or MacArthur stations in Oakland when traveling in this direction.

BART stations provide stairs, escalators or elevators to exit or access the BART platforms. No luggage carts are available at BART stations.

Checked Baggage: San Joaquin trains will not accommodate checked baggage to/from San Francisco August 28 – September 3, 2013.

BART Schedules: BART schedules can be found online at www.bart.gov or by calling (510) 465-2278.

Amtrak Long Distance Trains: Coast Starlight and California Zephyr

The San Francisco stop will be suspended during the Bay Bridge closure for the various Coast Thruway buses (4700 series) and the Bay Area San Joaquin Thruway buses (3400 series).

The Thruway buses that connect with the California Zephyr (train 5 and 6) and the Coast Starlight (train 11 and 14) will be rerouted to either Martinez or San Jose with additional time in their schedules. For specifics or more detailed information, please visit www.amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).