BART hit with system wides delays following "equipment problem"

BART suffered a major service disruption Sunday, one week after celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Two trains got stuck in the tube on the Oakland side, one near the west Oakland station, the other near 12th street.

The problem set off a chain reaction of system-wide delays making for a long, arduous day for passengers. All lines of BART service were hit with delays and for a time the red line from Richmond to Millbrae was out of service.

BART offered no specifics and called the issue an "equipment problem" on the track in the Transbay Tube.

One passenger said she got stuck underground between west Oakland and Lake Merritt during her trip from San Francisco to Dublin. 

"I got on at like 10, around 10, and now it’s like 12:15, so we were stuck for like an hour and a half or so," said Varshini Sitarana of San Ramon.

Another passenger on that train shared video showing the train went dark temporarily for three to five minutes, but we’re told people remained in good spirits.

BART sent another train to help stuck passengers get to the nearest stop.

"A rescue train came and picked us up, and we got dropped off here at Lake Merritt," said Anoeil Eilia.

BART passengers were offered free bus service from AC Transit to get across the bridge.

Even though train service was available, system-wide delays were long and one passenger headed to work in the city never made it.

"Had to call in, let everyone know what happened and that I’m on my way home now," said Isaias Martinez of Hayward.

Other passengers planned to use ride-sharing to get to their destinations. Everyone had to improvise.

"They announced that the train going to Walnut Creek was not going…So we’re actually meeting a friend in Walnut Creek and he has to drive to Lake Merritt to meet us," said Amy Huong of San Francisco.

At around two o’clock BART retweeted rider video of a tow train, saying all tracks were clear and full service had been restored.

One week ago, seven-year-old Mason Bowan was one of thousands at the Lake Merritt station celebrating the fifty-year anniversary of the transit system he loves.  A week later, at that same station, he expressed dismay, summing up what disrupted his day.

"BART’s broke!"

 BART did not say if the issue was weather-related.