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BART completed temporary track repairs in the tube shortly after 9 a.m. and was able to reopen the Transbay Tube to full service, but trains will run at a reduced speed through the tube until final repairs and testing are completed.
BART officials say they will go back to single tracking after the evening commute to finalize repairs to allow trains to run at full speed. BART officials say delays will be minor and have a minimal impact on the evening commute. Initially, a second round of repairs was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. and continue through the afternoon, causing 30-minute delays. At 6 p.m., BART officials said the system was running on-time, except for a 2-minute delay in and out of the Transbay Tube.
The accident that spurred the delays happened around 2:35 a.m. when one maintenance vehicle rear-ended the other, damaging 380 feet of the third rail on the Transbay Tube tracks that take trains from San Francisco to the East Bay, BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said.
BART commuters were encouraged to telecommute if possible, or take other means of transportation. Roadways, buses and ferries saw extra passengers throughout the morning commute as travelers tried to make their way to their destinations. There were extra buses and ferries to try to accommodate the extra passengers, as well as longer than usual crowds for casual carpools heading to the East Bay. Delays ranged from a few minutes for some commuters to over an hour for others.
ABC7 News reporters Amy Hollyfield, Matt Keller, Heather Ishimaru, Tomas Roman and Leyla Gulen, as well as Bay City News, contributed to this report.
