SF Bay Area: Versatile but problem-plagued, the last 1990s-era C2 BART car is gone

[marmar]

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has officially retired the last of the 1990s-era C2 train cars.

The C2s had more than their share of issues affecting riders and workers and were strategically targeted to be the first cars in the legacy fleet completely decommissioned. The last one was scrapped in August.

C2s were the most likely to have HVAC breakdowns leading to hot cars and rider misery. The operator cab was cramped with failure-prone sash windows. Engineers and mechanics had to come up with do-it-yourself fixes for problems like overshooting windshield wipers and passenger doors that popped off their tracks, taking cars out of service and causing delays.

However, the C2 cars (and their close cousin, C1s, which are next on the list for fully decommissioning as BART replaces its fleet) had some important distinctions that made them significant in BART history. Because of their versatility to be placed anywhere in a multiple-car train, they ushered in the modern era of train dispatch efficiency. And riders knew them as the first to have a blue interior color palette, instead of the 1970s vintage brown and orange of BART’s early days. ..........(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/vehicles/press-release/21237060/bay-area-rapid-transit-bart-versatile-but-problemplagued-the-last-1990sera-c2-bart-car-is-gone