Tree limb on track, police activity interrupt BART service

Trains arrive and depart at the Rockridge BART station in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. BART officials are hoping voters will approve a $3.5 million bond measure to improve the aging infrastructure of the transit system. less Trains arrive and depart at the Rockridge BART station in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. BART officials are hoping voters will approve a $3.5 million bond measure to improve the aging ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Tree limb on track, police activity interrupt BART service 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Between a tree that fell on the BART tracks striking two trains and shutting down service between Balboa Park and Colma stations, and police activity at the Embarcadero Station, Tuesday has been a bad night for riders.

Service remained shut down between the Daly City and 24th Street Mission stations at 9 p.m. as officials tried to move a disabled train and remove a fallen tree limb from the tracks. Spokeswoman Alicia Trost said it’s unclear when service will resume.

Muni was honoring BART tickets for fares on its 14-Mission buses, which run between 24th St. Mission and Daly City.

The trouble began about 5:35 p.m., just after workers had cleared up a switching problem in the area. A falling tree slammed the side of a train heading toward downtown, breaking some glass on the operator’s cab.

Then it fell onto the opposite track, where it was struck by a train headed for Daly City. The tree lodged under the train, which stopped and sat until 6:15 p.m. when a rescue train pulled up next to it and passengers switched trains. They were taken to Daly City station, arriving about 6:45 p.m.

No one was injured in the incident, Trost said. Hundreds of BART riders, disgorged at 24th St. Mission, overwhelmed the escalators and stairs, creating a chaotic scene and causing BART to send police officers to help control the crowds. Some passengers said it took 40 minutes to exit the station.

As they worked to clear the 24th Street Station, trouble popped up at Embarcadero Station. Police searched for a man who assaulted a woman on the street and escaped into the station. Police ran trains through the station without stopping for 15 minutes during their search. A suspect was arrested but was released when no victim could be found.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan