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Bay Area Rapid Transit officials closed three East Bay stations on Sunday afternoon because of a series
of electrical fires that occurred Saturday at the South
Hayward train yard. Officials also told passengers who took the Fremont lines to expect
delays of about 15 minutes this week.
According to the San Francisco
Chronicle, BART spokesman Jim Allison said that the situation was caused by a
series of electrical fires which damaged cables leading from a tower that helps
control the trains. Until repairs are finished, the trains will have to be
operated manually on tracks south of the Bay Fair Station.
“There was physical damage to a very
critical component of the train control system. The tower at the Hayward yard, where we
move trains around and get them ready to go, is out of commission,” Allison
said.
The trains between the Hayward and Fremont
stations were stopped for nearly 16 hours on Saturday. Trains were running at
all stations Sunday morning, but BART officials closed the South Hayward, Union City and Fremont
stations again at 2 p.m, as the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Passengers who planned to travel on
the Richmond-Fremont line between Hayward and Fremont will have to
transfer to Daly City-Fremont trains at the Bay Fair Station.
The problems caused by the fire will
take weeks to be solved and the damages cost BART millions of dollars.
Reports show that the fires might have
been caused by employee errors and may be related to upgrades performed by BART
technicians early Saturday. The fires are still under investigation.
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