Follow-Up BART Repairs Delayed, Only Minor Delays Expected Friday

11:46 AM: Follow-up repair work has been postponed until overnight on a portion of BART tracks damaged when two maintenance vehicles collided in the Transbay Tube earlier today and caused major delays for morning commuters, BART officials said.

The accident, which spurred lengthy delays of up to 40 minutes, happened around 2:35 a.m. when one maintenance vehicle rear-ended the other, damaging 380 feet of the third rail on the Transbay Tube tracks that take trains from San Francisco to the East Bay, BART officials said.

Trains were using one track to pass through the tube until shortly after 9 a.m., when temporary repairs were completed and regular service resumed at reduced speeds.

Initially, a second round of repairs was scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. and continue through the afternoon, causing 30-minute delays.

Instead, full service will continue through the tube, albeit at slower speeds, officials said.

Trains are expected to be delayed by three to five minutes until service ends for the day, according to BART officials.

Once the system closes, overnight repair work will begin.

Sasha Lekach, Bay City News

9:27 AM: Initial repair work has been completed this morning to ease congested BART service traveling through the Transbay Tube after maintenance vehicles damaged the tracks earlier today, agency officials said.

Temporary repairs were completed around 8:45 a.m., allowing full train service to start safely running at 9 a.m. between San Francisco and Oakland. Previously trains had to single-track, causing delays of up to 40 minutes, officials said.

The accident that spurred the delays happened around 2:35 a.m. when one maintenance vehicle rear-ended the other, damaging 380 feet of the third rail on the Transbay Tube tracks that take trains from San Francisco to the East Bay, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.

No one was injured in the collision, which involved a rail grinder and another vehicle, she said.

At 11:30 a.m., trains will single-track once again to finish the repair work, BART officials said.

The single-tracking will cause delays of about 20 to 30 minutes for passengers between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., BART officials said.

All repair work is expected to be completed before the evening commute.

Many commuters took to social media to post comments about long delays and crowds waiting at BART stations this morning.

One Twitter user posted just before 9 a.m., “Life is not fun right now. Stuck at (MacArthur station) in a crowded train.”

Sasha Lekach, Bay City News

7:39 AM: BART trains traveling across the Bay are being delayed by more than 30 minutes this morning because of a collision between two maintenance vehicles that damaged the tracks inside the Transbay Tube earlier today, an agency spokeswoman said.

The collision occurred around 2:35 a.m. when one maintenance vehicle rear-ended the other, damaging 380 feet of the third rail on the tracks in the Transbay Tube that take trains from San Francisco to the East Bay, BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.

Repairs to the tracks are under way but are forcing BART trains to single-track on the other tracks in the Transbay Tube, causing delays of 30 to 40 minutes as of shortly after 7 a.m., Trost said.

“We basically need to reconnect and realign the third rail,” she said. “It isn’t complicated work but it is time consuming because of the length of track that needs to be repaired.”

BART officials hope to have repairs completed by the afternoon commute, Trost said.

Passengers are encouraged to find alternative transportation or to telecommute, if possible, she said.

Alameda-Contra Costa Transit will be assisting commuters by having its maximum amount of buses out and continuing its transbay service as long as possible, Trost said.

No one was injured in the collision, which involved a rail grinder and another vehicle, she said.

Dan McMenamin, Bay City News