BART is not making any promises, but via a media ride-along event on Monday, they are eager to let the public know that they are not behind schedule anymore with the rollout of the new fleet of train cars, which is set to begin this fall. There's still plenty of testing to do and kinks to work out — and it doesn't sound like this 27-minute East Bay tour aboard a new five-car train went off without a hitch — but they're hoping now to have ten cars put in passenger service by late September, if all goes well. Following that, they hope to have 35 new cars in service by year-end.

Last week the cars began being tested around the BART system during normal business hours. As BART explains in a release, "The 10 pilot cars had already completed 42 weeks of testing on the main tracks since last November during non-business hours. That was preceded by months of runs along test tracks at our Hayward Maintenance Facility that began after the first pilot car arrived in April 2016."

One obstacle in the testing process that makes the BART project unusual is that BART runs on wider gauge tracks than a typical train system. Assistant General Manager for Operations Paul Oversier explains, "We’re doing more testing on site here at BART than other transit agencies would because our tracks are wider than standard. Transit agencies with standard width tracks do a lot of testing at the factory before new cars are shipped out. We don’t have that option so we are putting our cars through the paces in the same environment in which they need to perform. In that sense, it’s an advantage."

In total, the new cars contain 30 microprocessors and are run with 180 distinct software packages, and the majority of modifications that have been getting made as a result of the testing have been to software.

Several media outlets invited along for Monday's ride described what was not the smoothest of rides — and the test train was reportedly 20 minutes late for the scheduled media pickup at South Hayward Station. KQED reports that Oversier explained the lateness as being due to some trouble fitting the train into the schedule between the regularly scheduled trains carrying passengers.

Once on board, as the Chronicle describes it, "the new train lurched, jerked" and made a "blurp" sound as it arrived in the station instead of a "beep." Also, they say, "the test train lurched harshly several times as its controls were switched from manual to automatic control and back again, and the train operator — who is still getting the hang of the space-age cockpit that passes for the driver’s seat — was making his acquaintance with the brakes."

ABC 7 has some footage of one of those lurches below.

The schedule of this Fleet of the Future rollout has been pushed back several times. We should now expect to see the complete rollout of 775 new train cars happening over the next four years, but by December you may have the chance to ride in one yourself.

Previously: BART's 'Fleet Of The Future' To Roll Out Further In The Future Than Promised