BART Service Restored After Debris Fire In Transbay Tube
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A debris fire in the Transbay Tube caused BART to single track trains between San Francisco and the East Bay, causing major delays during peak commute time, BART officials said Tuesday.
BART was forced to shut down power to both sides of the third rail due to the fire. The incident caused BART to single track trains in the tube for nearly an hour.
BART officials said they were investigating reports of sparks in the ventilation system on the Oakland side along with the Oakland Fire Department.
The Transbay Tube was reopened fully at 5:55 p.m., but BART said to expect major delays.
UPDATE 6:17 pm: Transbay Tube open in both directions. Restoring to normal service. Expect major residual delays. Trains are being pushed through Tube as fast as possible to move riders. https://t.co/snKOyPfyR3
— BART (@SFBART) October 23, 2019
Passengers on social media were saying that they were on stuck trains and crowds at San Francisco BART stations were packed.
BART said AC Transit is offering mutual aid from the Transbay Terminal to 20th and Broadway in Oakland via the NL Bus.
Transbay commuters may seek to travel across the Bay using @rideact buses from the Transbay Bus Terminal in San Francisco. Info graphics are provided below. We are still awaiting further developments on the closure and its reopening. pic.twitter.com/oZVxXCxJjn
— BART (@SFBART) October 23, 2019
The NL will connect riders from the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco with the 19th Street BART station in Downtown Oakland. Muni is providing mutual aid for commuters traveling to the Peninsula.