BART recovering after major delays at San Francisco stations

SAN FRANCISCO -- BART is restoring normal service through the Civic Center station in San Francisco this morning after a Mylar balloon hit the third rail, causing smoke in the station, according to the transit agency.

BART officials issued an advisory at 7:30 a.m. about an equipment problem that was causing trains not to stop at Civic Center.

The problem was related to the balloon that floated down and hit the rail, then exploded and caused smoke in the station, BART spokesman Jim Allison said.

BART officials closed the Civic Center station, with some trains turning around back toward the East Bay and others running through the station without stopping, Allison said.

Before you head out to your car, be sure to check out the ABC7 traffic maps for real-time information to help you navigate through traffic jams.

Shortly after 7:50 a.m., BART officials said normal service was being restored at the station.

The service delays come after earlier issues today involving debris that caught fire on the tracks in the area of the 24th Street Mission station.

The track fire reported at 5:18 a.m. caused major delays and prompted the shutdown of service between the Montgomery and Balboa Park stations for about 90 minutes.

ABC7 News contributed to this story.