West Oakland station

West Oakland station is a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California. It has two elevated side platforms and is located near the eastern end of the Transbay Tube. All main BART lines except the Orange Line stop at the station. The Oakland Wye is located to the east of the station.

West Oakland
A train at West Oakland station in March 2025
General information
Location	1451 7th Street Oakland, California
Coordinates	37.8049°N 122.2951°W / 37.8049; -122.2951
Line(s)	BART M-Line
Platforms	2 side platforms
Connections	AC Transit: 14, 29, 36, 62, 800 Flixbus, Greyhound
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	156 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Racks, 42 shared lockers, 8 keyed reserved lockers, Bay Wheels station
Accessible	Yes
Architect	Kitchen & Hunt[1]
Other information
Station code	BART: WOAK
History
Opened	September 16, 1974 (1974-09-16)
Previous names	Oakland West (1974–1987)
Passengers
2025	3,717 (weekday average)[2]
Services
Preceding station Bay Area Rapid Transit Following station Embarcadero toward Daly City Blue Line Lake Merritt toward Dublin/​Pleasanton Green Line Lake Merritt toward Berryessa Embarcadero toward Millbrae Red Line 12th Street Oakland City Center toward Richmond Embarcadero toward SFO or Millbrae Yellow Line 12th Street Oakland City Center toward Antioch via Pittsburg/​Bay Point
Location

History

West Oakland station in 2018

By August 1965, the city of Oakland desired to call the planned station Oakland West.^[3] BART approved the name that December.^[4] The station opened on September 16, 1974 – the last station of the initial BART system to open – with the beginning of service through the Transbay Tube.^[5] The name "Oakland West" was contrary to the actual neighborhood name of "West Oakland". The efforts of neighborhood activists led BART to correct the name to West Oakland around 1987.^[6][7][8]

In 1990, West Oakland was proposed as a station for the Capitols service to replace the damaged 16th Street station.^[9] It was again proposed in 1992 as an intermodal station including Amtrak and buses as part of the replacement of the Cypress Street Viaduct.^[10] Seismic retrofitting of the station took place in 2009–2011.^[11][12] West Oakland was the first BART station to be retrofitted with new fare gates intended to reduce fare evasion. Installation of the new gates took place from December 11–28, 2023.^[13]

In February 2019, the city approved plans for a transit-oriented development (TOD) project to replace parking lots surrounding the station.^[14] The BART Board of Directors approved the plans in June 2020.^[15] The development is to be mixed-use with 762 housing units, 75,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of retail, and 382,460 square feet (35,532 m²) of office space.^[14] The private developer lost the property in foreclosure in October 2023.^[16] As of 2024^[update], BART indicates "significant market, local support, and/or implementation barriers" that must be overcome to allow TOD on a separate parcel isolated from the main development. That second phase would not begin until at least the mid-2030s.^[17]

Bus connections

The station has a busway on its south side, which serves AC Transit bus routes 14, 29, 36, and 62. Bus stops on 7th Street on the north side of the station serve AC Transit routes 29, 62, and 800, as well as Flixbus, and Greyhound intercity bus service.^[18]