BART Fleet of the Future train gets stuck on tracks, passengers have to walk

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Major BART delays were reported on Monday after a new Fleet of the Future train got stuck on the tracks in Oakland, officials said.

It happened around 10 a.m. BART spokeswoman Anna Duckworth said there was a Richmond-bound train stuck on the tracks between 12th Street and Lake Merritt stations.

When BART couldn't immediately fix the problem, after an hour, it decided to take the unusual step of having all 421 passengers on board walk to the next station, which was 12th Street. Typically, the transit agency sends rescue trains. 

Duckworth said mainline technicians were trying to figure out what happened. 

"Because it was such a short distance we decided we would minimize time riders had to be stuck. To minimize that we decided to have them walk," Duckworth said. 

Passengers walked down a narrow path through a dark tunnel a few hundred feet to the next station. A team of BART employees helped escort the passengers. 

One passenger had a bicycle on board. "They said, 'Leave your bike.' I said no, I can't leave my bike," said rider Parish Blake. 

BART said everyone made the walk in less than five minutes and that everyone made it safely. 

"Nobody panicked. That was a blessing. Everybody remained calm," Blake said. 

BART towed the disabled train off the line. The train is part of BART's new Fleet of the Future, which has had software problems in the past. 

We asked BART if they were experiencing any buyer's remorse with these newer trains. 

"Absolutely not," Duckworth said. "The trains are very popular. Our passengers tell us they like riding them."  

BART is still troubleshooting to figure out what went wrong with the train. 

Here's what BART riders had to say: