BART back on schedule after morning nightmare

BART employees (left) stand outside a damaged 3-car train at the Fruitvale station as stranded commuters seek alternate transportation in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire below the train between the Coliseum and Fruitvale stations disrupted the morning commute. At least three passengers aboard the train were transported to hospitals. less BART employees (left) stand outside a damaged 3-car train at the Fruitvale station as stranded commuters seek alternate transportation in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, July 9, 2015 after an early morning fire ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close BART back on schedule after morning nightmare 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

BART officials said the system was running smoothly heading into the Thursday evening commute, a far cry from earlier in the day when a fire outside a train damaged the tracks and shut down five stations in the East Bay for several hours.

The delays stemmed from an electrical arc at 4:30 a.m. and reports of a fire outside the rear car of a three-car train heading north between Coliseum and Fruitvale stations, said Jim Allison, a BART spokesman.

Power normally flows from the third rail to paddles on the underside of the train. Early Thursday, however, an arc caused electricity to bypass the paddle and jump from the rail straight to the body of the train, which caused a bright flash of light, a loud bang and the train car to fill with smoke, said BART spokesman Taylor Huckaby.

One passenger injured his hand trying to break out a window, another suffered an injured back jumping from the train and a third had an asthma attack, Huckaby said. All the injuries were minor, he said.

The cause of the arc was under investigation. Much of the track in the area was recently replaced, Huckaby said.

Crews had to move the disabled train and replace the rail that was damaged. The Bay Fair, Lake Merritt, Fruitvale, Coliseum and San Leandro stations were shut down during the incident and did not reopen until 9 a.m. Service to Oakland International Airport was also shut down, because it originates at the Coliseum station.

Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz