San Francisco Chronicle, 1/18/18:
New BART rail cars could start service in time for Friday’s evening commute
BART’s first 10 new rail cars have been approved to start carrying passengers by the state Public Utilities Commission and could be in service in time for the Friday evening commute.
The long-awaited approval came Wednesday night in a letter to BART General Manager Grace Crunican from Elizaveta Malashenko, director of the utilities commission’s safety and enforcement division.
“Congratulations on achieving this milestone,” Malashenko wrote.
BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said Thursday that the new trains could start carrying passengers Friday afternoon after a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony and an inaugural ride with longtime BART employees, some passengers who rode the first BART trains in 1972 and elected officials aboard.