Major Delays In BART Service Due To Bomb Threat At West Oakland Station
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Trains began running again through the Transbay Tube after a bomb threat involving an AC Transit bus parked near the West Oakland BART station led to major delays systemwide Tuesday night.
BART officials told KCBS that someone reportedly called the California Highway Patrol and told them there was a bomb on a bus heading to the station around 7 p.m. The bus was evacuated when it arrived at the station. The station was also evacuated and trains were not being allowed to pass through West Oakland.
According to witnesses, passengers heading to the East Bay from San Francisco were taken off trains at the Embarcadero station. BART spokesperson Alicia Trost said they have contacted AC Transit to provide bus service for people commuting from San Francisco to the East Bay.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office bomb squad was called to the scene. A bomb technician entered the bus and did not find an explosive device, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. J.D. Nelson told Bay City News Service.
"It's always better to have a false positive than a false negative," Nelson said.
The delays come as two major events are taking place in the Bay Area Tuesday night. AT&T Park is hosting a concert featuring Jay-Z and Beyonce, as part of their "On The Run" tour. Meanwhile, the Oakland A's are hosting the Tampa Bay Rays at O.Co Coliseum.
Trains began running through the Transbay Tube and the West Oakland station shortly after 9 p.m.
Tuesday's incident is the third bomb threat that has impacted BART service over the past week.
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