How Facebook cash could revive the long-defunct Dumbarton railway

By Eli Wirtschafter

Published April 29, 2019 at 6:06 PM PDT

The Dumbarton Bridge carries over 70,000 vehicles a day. A rail line running next to it has been dormant since 1982.

Every day, the Dumbarton Bridge is choked with tech workers commuting from the East Bay to Silicon Valley. Next to the bridge is a rail line that’s been defunct for almost 40 years. Now, that rail crossing could be rebuilt for commuters. And Facebook might pay to make it happen.

"It would be for the public, not just Facebook employees. But Facebook will have a pretty large influence on how it's built and who it serves."

Find more information on the Dumbarton rail bridge project here.

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Eli Wirtschafter

Eli is a key member of KALW’s senior leadership team, managing our day-to-day operations so that KALW can deliver high-quality journalism, storytelling, and public service at scale. Eli is a proud graduate of Berkeley High School, UC Berkeley, and most importantly, KALW’s Audio Academy. He served as the director of our Uncuffed prison radio training program from 2019 to 2025, overseeing the launch of the Uncuffed podcast, the Uncuffed Playlist DJ program, our expansion to the California Institution for Women, and our investment in formerly incarcerated leadership.

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