Equipment problems, delays linger into afternoon BART commute

A train pulls into the El Cerrito del Norte BART station March 9, 2016 in El Cerrito, Calif. A train pulls into the El Cerrito del Norte BART station March 9, 2016 in El Cerrito, Calif. Photo: Leah Millis Leah Millis / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Leah Millis Leah Millis / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Equipment problems, delays linger into afternoon BART commute 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An equipment problem on the tracks in the East Bay caused big headaches for BART riders for hours Wednesday and continued to hamper service in the afternoon commute as major delays were reported and trains were halted entirely between the Concord and Pittsburg/Bay Point stations.

The delays and service suspension are expected to last into the evening, officials said due to a “trackside equipment problem.” The suspension in service is between the North Concord/Martinez station to the Pittsburg/Bay Point station.

The problems were first reported about 9:30 a.m. and continued throughout the day.

“Although BART's transit partners have contributed buses to a bus bridge that is connecting the two stations, BART passengers using the bus bridge should anticipate crowded buses and additional travel time,” according to a statement released by the agency about 2:30 p.m.

Crews were on scene Wednesday “working to troubleshoot and correct” thee trackside equipment problems.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com