OAKLAND - BART still has no timeline for when service will be restored between the North Concord/Martinez and Pittsburg/Bay Point stations, more than a week after a mysterious electrical spike damaged dozens of cars along that stretch of track.

"We're a little perplexed right now," BART assistant general manager Paul Oversier told the BART board of directors at their meeting Thursday morning. The voltage spike damaged electrical components in certain train cars and took about 50 cars out of service. BART crews have inspected every inch of the tracks in the area and the electrical systems serving it, but have so far not found the source of the problem.

Also on Patch: BART: Problems May Extend For Months

BART Disruptions Now Through Friday, Maybe Later A similar problem damaged cars between downtown Oakland and San Francisco starting in February, but BART crews didn't get to the bottom of that problem either -- it just went away and its cause remains unclear.

So far, this problem hasn't gone away. During commute hours, riders boarding at the Pittsburg/Bay Point station, which peaks at about 1,700 people hourly, have to board a shuttle train running between that station and North Concord/Martinez every 10 minutes.

Riders then have to off-board and get on a different train to get to other destinations on BART, Oversier said.

"We need to understand how significant this is to people," BART director Joel Keller, who represents the affected stations, said at Thursday's meeting.

Keller said he took the shuttle to the meeting Thursday morning, and while it works, "it's not what people are accustomed to, it's not what they expect, it's not the level of service that we have provided people for 20 years. It's a step down in service." He called for an evening meeting in Pittsburg to hear from residents there.