BART resumes full service after fatality on tracks

Bay City News
Thursday, January 15, 2015
BART reopens after fatality on tracks
A fatality closed the Powell Street station, forcing limited service between San Francisco and the East Bay during the morning commute and causing residual delays.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Powell Street BART station in San Francisco has reopened after a male was killed by apparently jumping in front of a train there, BART officials said.

The victim was reported under an East Bay-bound train at about 7:55 a.m. on Wednesday, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.

Trost said witnesses reported seeing the person jump in front of the train. He was pronounced dead in the station.

The fatality closed the Powell Street station and there was limited service between San Francisco and the East Bay. The station reopened as of 9:45 a.m. but major residual delays remained systemwide.

Only San Francisco International Airport-bound trains were headed into the city during the closure. Passengers on other lines had to get off and wait for an SFO-bound train, causing extensive crowding on Oakland

platforms, Trost said.

San Francisco Municipal Railway and Caltrain offered free rides for BART passengers this morning in an effort to alleviate crowding on BART.

The delays across the Bay Area made for some pretty frustrated passengers.

Some BART riders said they waited for up to an hour and a half.

Trains got really crowded once BART started single-tracking.

"It was extremely hot and a lot of people who didn't want to be in the train and a lot of people wanted to get on. It was very uncomfortable," said one passenger.

ABC7 News Reporter Eric Thomas contributed to this story.