BART commuters this morning ran up against some serious delays, reportedly up to an hour, especially for those trying to get between the East Bay and SF. Delays that were initially announced as 15-20 minutes due to an equipment problem grew to an hour and inevitably impacted crowds on other lines as well. BART is now saying that service has been suspended until further notice on the Richmond line.

KTVU reports that the problem began around 6 a.m., and it relates to a switching mechanism "located between the West Oakland station and the Lake Merritt and 12th Street stations, a busy area where lines converge." BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost says the Richmond line had to be shut down in order to allow crews to reach the affected switch.

Update: Furthermore, as of 10:17, we're being told that "BART service has been suspended between Bay Fair and Fremont on the Fremont Line in the Daly City direction due to an equipment problem on a train. Board the Richmond train and transfer at Bayfair to a SF/Daly City train."

This follows on an equipment-related delay on BART that occurred around 11 p.m. last night, as well as three separate medical emergencies that snarled the late-morning commute on Monday.