What Embarcadero #BART station looks like when there is a delay. Happy to be off the train. pic.twitter.com/4ObYTmpml7
— Sally K (@Sally_K) March 10, 2015
Were you stuck on an massively crowded platform or on an unmoving BART train during your evening commute last night? Here's why. Police pursued a robbery suspect who decided to run through the BART tunnel from 24th Street to Glen Park Station around 5:30 p.m., leading to all service being shut down between those two stations for about 35 minutes, as KTVU reports. That suspect was ultimately caught and in custody as of 6:15, but that's not where BART's troubles ended.
As the Chron reports, a subsequent medical emergency involving a seizure aboard a train at 24th Street at 6:40 p.m. further complicated matters. That passenger had to be unloaded from the train before it could proceed.
AND another train at 24th Street had a mechanical issue at right about the same time and had to be taken out of service. The Examiner says there were half-hour delays through the system until about 8 p.m.
So, yes, if you were trying to get anywhere in San Francisco last night, or if you were traveling to the East Bay when all service shut down between 5:30 and 6, you were pretty screwed. But it was not really BART's fault.
Chaos at 24th Street Stn as #BART turned around due to SFPD foot pursuit in tunnels. I have a Housing Authority Mg! pic.twitter.com/VdyBaEewh3
— John C. Baker (@jcb10) March 10, 2015