BART recovering from major morning system-wide delays

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KTVU) - BART is recovering from major system-wide delays caused by a mechanical problem that completely shut down service on the Peninsula and to SFO Friday morning.

Officials tell KTVU that an insulator on the third rail failed sparking several small fires near the Daly City Station around 4:30a.m.

As a result, service was completely stopped for more than 2 hours to the Glen Park, Balboa Park, Daly City, Colma, South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae, and SFO stations.

Trains from the East Bay were stopped at the 24th street Mission station and sent back the other direction.

Bewildered riders headed to SFO were surprised by the problem.

"They said everybody needs to get off and now I don’t know where to go.  I'm trying to get to the airport and I don't know how to get there!", Vicky Hill told a KTVU crew, before deciding to call a taxi to get to the airport.

Eventually limited service was restored around 6:30a.m. but major system-wide delays persisted through the early morning commute.

 Currently all lines are fully operational, however, some lingering delays remain.

Some riders were not surprised by the system outage.

”With all the track service and everything else… it’s a 40 year old system.  Things are bound to happen, but it just seems that it is happening everywhere all over the place, “ said  BART rider Ed Pendleton.

This stretch of track is the same area where complete closures have been scheduled for the next several months to install noise-reducing equipment on the tracks, however officials say Friday morning’s problem was not related to the recent track repairs.

One of those closures is scheduled for this weekend, but BART officials say that shuttle service will be available for riders between the Daly City and Glen Park stations.