What a way to start your work week. If you are a passenger heading to any of the BART stations between Fremont and Richmond - you're going to have to add 15 minutes to your commute; this is because fires over the weekend caused millions of dollars in damage at the South Hayward train yard. Because of it, the trains will have to operated manually on the tracks south of the Bayfair station - that will cause a 15 minute delay because the transfer process will take longer.
As a result, Richmond to Fremont trains will stop at the Bayfair station and then turn around and go back north. Passengers on the Richmond to Fremont trains will have to transfer at the Bayfair station to access stations farther south.
"If you are rolling out of bed at 6:30 am to catch that 6:50 am train, you're going to have to roll out of bed about 15 minutes earlier," said Linton Johnson, Chief BART spokesman.
BART officials say other lines should not be affected by the change. Again, East Bay passengers south of Oakland are advised to arrive at least 15 minutes earlier. As far as fixing the damage, a BART spokesman said it could take six to eight weeks to get back to normal. There are about 18,000 passengers who use the route every day.
