BART Train Glitch In San Francisco Prompts Big Delays
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - BART riders experienced major delays Wednesday afternoon due to a disabled train at the Powell Street station in San Francisco, an agency spokesman said.
A mechanical problem was reported at about noon and the train was taken out of service, causing delays of up to 45 minutes, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.
By 1:15 p.m., most of the delays were minor, he said.
It took about 30 to 45 minutes for crews to clear the train, which was pushed by another train toward the Balboa Park station, Johnson said.
The train was pushed at about 10 mph, so passengers trying to get around the train were significantly delayed until it reached its destination at 1:12 p.m.
In the meantime, BART single-tracked trains around the slow-moving pair.
"It's like having a car moving on a freeway that has one lane going each direction," Johnson said. "The car in front of you is going 10 mph and you're trying to go 60. We're trying to use the opposite-direction lane to get around it."
The passengers on the disabled train were switched to another one, Johnson said. No injuries were reported.
The Richmond-Fremont line was not affected by the delays, Johnson said.
Passengers headed from San Francisco to the East Bay and from the East Bay to downtown San Francisco were experiencing delays of five to 10 minutes as of about 1:15 p.m., Johnson said.
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