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Transbay BART Service Restored After Fire Damage Repairs

OAKLAND (CBS SF) - Bay Area Rapid Transit trains began running between San Francisco and the East Bay shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday. Trains had been shut down for the entire day following an overnight fire next to the East Oakland tracks.

KCBS' Chris Filippi reports that the service is limited, meaning that trains are moving at reduced frequency and speed. Full service will be restored by Friday morning's commute, according to system officials.

The first train of the day was arriving at the West Oakland BART station from San Francisco just before 4 p.m., spokesman Jim Allison said.

Several test trains successfully traveled along the tracks Thursday afternoon, allowing limited service to resume for the evening commute, Allison said. The test trains did not carry passengers.

The fire, at an under-construction senior center in a framing stage between Fifth and Seventh streets directly next to the West Oakland BART station, was reported around 2:15 a.m., Battalion Chief Adrian Sheppard said.

KCBS Team Coverage:

The fire spread to include lampposts, cars, powers poles, took down electrical wires and spread to the elevated BART tracks, potentially damaging the tracks and necessitating shutting down power to the tracks, Sheppard said.

No one was injured and no homes or occupied buildings were damaged in the blaze, Sheppard said.

Arson investigators were looking into what started the fire.

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(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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