Let's talk about train wraps

You most likely have seen BART train cars that don’t exactly look like your normal train car. Many of them are bright, colorful, and advertise various companies from throughout the region. All meant to grab your attention as the train comes into the platform or when you see it rolling on by. These cars have train wraps.

Now you’re probably wondering, “why is BART doing this?” There are a few reasons why. The first being that train wraps are another tool in the arsenal of advertising to help generate additional revenue. It’s not only attention-grabbing, but it’s also mobile, traveling along 131.4 miles of BART track. The other reason is that some of the train cars have exteriors that have been stained or are cosmetically damaged. Wrapping them achieves three things- another train car in revenue service, masking a cosmetically damaged train car, and bringing in additional advertising revenue.

The train wraps are vinyl adhesive with graphics that cling to the exterior of the train (think of Glad Cling Wrap clinging to the outside of your bread). A team of sub-contractors from our exclusive advertising sales partner, OUTFRONT Media, installs the train wraps in the BART yards; it typically takes one day per car.

The latest train wrap to enter our system (as of August 2020) is from California Avocados and we had the opportunity to film the crew during installation. Here, you’ll see how the crew meticulously applies the train wrap to the body of the car, making sure that pieces of vinyl line up exactly to get the full effect of the artwork. Of course, we sped up the process and turned eight hours into one minute.

Timelapse of the California Avocados train wrap installation in August 2020. 

A little about California Avocados

California Avocados are born and raised throughout California, meticulously cared for and picked at their peak, ensuring California Avocados go from tree to table in just a few days. The California Avocado season is from Spring through Summer and one takes about 14 to 18 months to grow. You can find California Avocados at a local retailer near you.

Have you seen the California Avocado BART train car?

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