BART: 22 train cars out of commission due to equipment problems

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OAKLAND (KTVU) --BART is testing nine-car trains Friday night in the East Bay after 22 of its train cars went out of commission on the Pittsburg-Baypoint line earlier in the evening. 

BART spokesman Jim Allison said they don't know if it's the same power issue that affected the same stretch of track in the spring of 2016. The equipment issues caused major delays throughout the day Friday starting early in the afternoon. 

The agency had previously said passengers should expect delays because of trackside equipment problems between the Pittsburg/Baypoint and North Concord stations. The transit agency has activated train shuttle service between the stations.

Passengers have to get off at North Concord, cross the platform and use a shuttle train. Unfortunately a second shuttle train also failed a few minutes ago. Buses are on had to transport passengers. 

The delays, which stretched longer than 20 minutes, were announced via Twitter by BART about 2 p.m. The problems affected trains heading toward SFO and Pittsburg, according to BART.

The delays are the result of power problems, according to BART. A spokesmen for the agency said they were still trying to root out the issue.

This is the same line that had major power problems last year. The mysterious electrical outages caused frequent disruptions in service.

A BART spokesperson says they don't know if it's that same electrical problem, but there are similarities. 

Last year, after an extensive investigation, BART engineers determined surface contamination and the environment were affecting the third rail. Wet weather and high moisture was causing the 1,000 volt third rail to be too powerful and shorting out the trains. 

Bay City News contributed to this report.