BART attributes Daly City substation fire to aging infrastructure amid hot weather
BART attributes Daly City substation fire to aging infrastructure amid hot weather
BART service is continuing to recover following a fire at a power substation in Daly City which caused delays and service adjustments.
DALY CITY, Calif. - BART service is continuing to recover following a fire at a power substation in Daly City, which caused delays and service adjustments.
Heat Wave Triggers Substation and Track Fires
What we know:
BART Assistant General Manager of Operations Sylvia Lamb explained during a board meeting that recent high heat overwhelmed an HVAC unit at a power substation near Daly City, sparking a fire. The substation, which is at least 40 years old, is among several facilities scheduled for replacement.
"This is a very clear failure that is due to aging equipment," Lamb said. "Within minutes, staff that were on site reported seeing fire."
BART spokesperson Christopher Filippi noted that a secondary fire occurred on nearby tracks, damaging a traction power cable that was roughly 30 years old. "It appears there is a link between what happened with the cable and what happened at the power substation," Filippi said.
In addition to the fires, heat-related issues triggered "phantom train" readings within the train control system, falsely indicating that trains were occupying empty sections of track.
System Recovery and Ongoing Line Outages
Repair crews worked overnight to restore power systems and address damaged infrastructure.
While four of BART's lines returned to their normal operating schedules, the Green Line remained out of service. Commuters reported adding 10 to 15 minutes to their travel times as a result of the ongoing disruptions.
"Frustrated right now, especially. I was supposed to be going to Dublin," one rider noted at the station, while another added that the delays pushed back scheduled meetings.
BART officials were unable to provide a definitive timeline for when all repairs at Daly City will be completed, but emphasized that restoration work remains a top priority for maintenance crews.
Transit Infrastructure and Funding Debates
BART issued an apology to riders for the disruptions, emphasizing that the agency has actively worked to upgrade its system using funds from a $3.5 billion bond measure approved by voters in 2016.
"We’ve been making great progress on that, but of course there is only so much that can be done, even through that amount of money," Filippi said.
Looking ahead, voters in November will consider a proposed regional sales tax increase to support Bay Area transit agencies. BART's portion of the proposed revenue would likely be directed toward maintaining service levels and addressing structural budget deficits.
Riders expressed mixed views on potential tax increases for transit funding. "Yeah, absolutely, I’d support that," one passenger said.
Daly City resident Kris Grant voiced a more cautious stance regarding agency oversight. "It doesn’t seem like that much of an increase, however, like I said, there’s been a lot of money given to BART already, and I’d like to see where it’s going," Grant said.