The number of employees of the Bay Area Rapid Transit System making at least $100,000 a year has nearly tripled since 2000.
One train yard foreman took home $109,000 in overtime alone last year, according to records reviewed by the Contra Costa County Times.
The general manager's pay, including bonuses, has grown to $309,000 in 2005 - a 57 percent gain over six years.
Combined, 353 employees made $100,000 or more last year, up from 127 in 2000.
Community watchdogs expressed outrage at the figures.
"The salary increases are obviously unconscionable," said Mike Arata of the Contra Costa Association of Taxpayers.
But train operator Hassan Shaheed said employees aren't overcompensated.
"People think we just sit up here and push buttons, but it's much more than that," Shaheed said. "People don't realize that their lives are in my hands each day."
The average salary of a BART train operator is $59,763 a year. By comparison, train operators in Boston make $53,643 and those in Los Angeles make $46,155. In New York, the average operator takes home $64,937.
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