History of The Bay Area Rapid Transit - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

There have been no accidents attributed to brake failure. The following incidents are known to have occurred on the BART system:

• In 1972, shortly after the system opened, a test train carrying no passengers, dubbed the Fremont Flyer, failed to stop at the end of the line at Fremont and ran into the parking lot. There were several injuries.
• The Transbay Tube was closed from January 17 to April 4, 1979, after a train caught fire in the tube, injuring dozens, killing a fireman, and damaging equipment. Most of the injuries were caused by inhalation of toxic smoke from the burning polyurethane in the seats, leading to a $118,000 replacement program which was completed in November 1980.
• On December 17, 1992, a BART train derailed south of 12th Street station and caused a five-day closure of the line.
• On March 9, 2006, debris on BART tracks between Montgomery and Embarcadero stations caught fire and caused a 1.5 hour system-wide shutdown. Frustrated passengers accused BART of mishandling the incident.
• On March 28 and 29, 2006, BART experienced computer glitches in its system during rush hour, which left about 35,000 commuters stranded inside trains or stations while the problem was being resolved.
• On December 1, 2006, a BART train jumped the tracks near the Oakland Wye, between 12th Street and Lake Merritt stations. There were no injuries.
• On May 10, 2008, two separate early morning fires at different power substations disrupted service on the Fremont line. No injuries were reported from the incident. The resulting damage left the Fremont line impaired as several computer control loops went offline between South Hayward and Union City Stations. Train operators were forced to manually drive trains at a reduced speed of 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). Normal service was finally restored on July 13, 2008, two weeks before initial estimates.
• On October 14, 2008, a BART track worker was killed by a train near the Concord-Walnut Creek border. The Pittsburg/Bay Point line was the most affected by the accident.
• On December 29, 2008, shortly after 7 PM, an electrical fire broke out near the Walnut Creek station. The fire apparently started after a train ripped off a portion of the electric third rail, dragging it under the train and sparking a fire along the rail. The fire caused major delays of 2–3 hours, as Pittsburg/Bay Point bound trains could travel no further than Lafayette station, and San Francisco Airport bound trains were held at Concord station, having to be taken out of service as the delays continued. A bus shuttle system was set up to take passengers along the Concord, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, and Lafayette BART stations. Trains were eventually allowed through the station in both directions, sharing one track until the rail was repaired.
• On January 1, 2009, there was an officer-involved shooting at the Fruitvale station, killing one person. See BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant.
• On February 3, 2009, two trains collided at low speed while approaching the 12th Street station, injuring a dozen people.
• On July 16, 2009 a westbound Dublin/Pleasanton train struck a construction worker at the upcoming West Dublin Station. None of the 75–100 passengers on the train were hurt. Service was affected for 30 minutes on both lanes and passengers were forced to stay on their trains until BART decided for the affected train to head back to the Dublin/Pleasanton Station where passengers could exit. Operations resumed a few hours later.
• On December 9, 2009 a train derailed between Lake Merrit and 12th Street stations in Oakland, California.
• On Sunday, March 13, 2011 the eighth and ninth cars of a ten car train derailed after leaving the Concord station at slow speed. Three minor back injuries were reported. The train carried about 65 people at that time. After the derailment, buses were employed to shuttle the passengers between the BART stations of Pleasant Hill and Pittsburg/Bay Point. The repairs lasted into the night and were completed before the Monday morning commute.