Brake Failure Disabled BART Train

A BART train that had become disabled between the Rockridge and Orinda stations this morning after experiencing a brake problem is moving again and will head to the Rockridge station, a BART spokesman said.

"A technician on board the train has been able to get it moving under its own power," BART spokesman Jim Allison said. "It's being moved toward the Rockridge station, where passengers will be presumably evacuated and moved to other trains," Allison said. Two "rescue trains" that had been dispatched to assist passengers who were stuck on the disabled train have been canceled because they are no longer necessary, Allison said.

BART spokeswoman Luna Salaver said that at about 8:15 a.m., a San Francisco International Airport-bound train on the Pittsburg-Bay Point line suffered a parking brake failure. The incident created "brake dust" and caused some smoking, and the train became disabled, blocking the tracks, she said. She compared the smoke to that created when a driver slams on the brakes of a car. "There was absolutely no fire on the train," Salaver said. As of 9:05 a.m., the passengers remained stranded on the stopped train. The platform of the Rockridge station has been cleared out in anticipation of the disabled train eventually coming in, but Salaver said the station was not closed. Crowds of commuters stood outside the station waiting to take BART to work.

 An employee at the Cactus Taqueria on College Avenue across the street from the Rockridge station said the station's entrances are blocked by paramedics and firefighters. She said there are groups of people waiting on the sidewalk. A person on the disabled train tweeted at 8:32 a.m. that there was some smoke in the train car. Shortly after 9 a.m., that person tweeted, "Train operator calling for a doctor now... We are chatting in our car otherwise in good spirits." About 10 minutes later, the same user posted, "We are waiting to be evacuated off Bart to rescue train. Getting instructions from train operator." Salaver said there are major delays of up to 30 minutes in both directions on the Pittsburg-Bay Point line.