BART reopens Transbay Tube after debris fire

FILE -- Commuters ride in one of the BART Fleet of the Future cars on Sept. 24, 2019. FILE -- Commuters ride in one of the BART Fleet of the Future cars on Sept. 24, 2019. Photo: Trish Gervasio Photo: Trish Gervasio Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close BART reopens Transbay Tube after debris fire 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

BART service between San Francisco and the East Bay abruptly stopped Tuesday evening after trains in the Transbay Tube were halted in both directions due to what it called "debris fire" in the tube.

The trains stopped around 5 p.m., just as the evening commute began.

At 5:55 p.m., BART spokesman Jim Allison said the Transbay Tube had been reopened in both directions, and that riders should expect residual delays. Up to that point, BART had begun single-tracking in both directions, with preference given to eastbound trains.

Allison said earlier that the issue was related to reported smoke near the Oakland side of the Transbay Tube, and that the Oakland Fire Department was investigating. A BART Twitter alert attributed the problem to a debris fire.

There is a major delay system wide due to debris fire in the transbay tube. — SFBARTalert (@SFBARTalert) October 23, 2019

BART said AC Transit would offer bus service from the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco to 20th and Broadway in Oakland.

Greg Keraghosian is an SFGATE homepage editor. Email: greg.keraghosian@sfgate.com