New slide causes havoc for ACE train commuters; service suspended until Monday

FREMONT -- For a second consecutive day, a mudslide was wreaking havoc Wednesday for Altamont Corridor Express train commuters.

Transit officials said ACE 01 train was halted at 5:39 a.m. between Pleasanton and Fremont due to debris on the tracks. Later trains were canceled for the day as crews worked on clearing the mud, rocks and debris and inspecting the tracks for any damage.

There were 223 passengers and three crew members onboard 01. The passengers were transferred to the following ACE 03 train and transported back to Pleasanton. Officials said three passengers ended up with minor injuries because of how abruptly the train stopped..

Aerial footage showed a backhoe working to clear trees, dirt and debris from the tracks late Wednesday morning.

Passengers aboard the train described a frightening sudden end to their commute.

"We just heard this loud sound like a jolt. It was really very scary. I've never seen that before," said one ACE rider. 

"I thought the tree was gonna hit the window and break it. So I had to duck. I had to go on the floor just to make sure. It was scary," train passenger Edith Lucas told CBS Bay Area.

"Bikes flying all over the place. And then I flew into the table. I hit the table." said ACE passenger Barbara Johnson.

ACE transit officials announced shortly before 3 p.m. that service would be suspended until Monday, January 23, due to the ongoing issues with the mudslides in the area out of concerns for "safety of passengers and crews."

The hills above the line which carries commuters between Stockton to San Jose have become saturated after nearly two feet of rain has fallen in the region over a 22-day span.

On Tuesday morning, commuters were stranded on an ACE train by a landslide in Niles Canyon. There were no injuries among the 220 passengers on the train that only suffered minor damage when it was struck by debris. 

According to the Alameda County Fire Department, the southbound ACE 05 train going ran into a mudslide in Sunol around 8:45 a.m.

"The conductor stopped and then everything just came down on one of the cars," said passenger Alex Vargas. "I think the scariest thing was just walking by that car that the landslide fell on and just seeing all of the rocks and debris."

Rescue workers say this could have been much worse.

"We are fortunate that this didn't turn into something bigger," said Alameda County Fire Division Chief Randall West. "This was actually not a train derailment, and the train had stopped due to a 100-foot mudslide." 

Selvan Subramanian, a passenger aboard the train, was on his way from Tracy to his job at Apple in Cupertino and snapped two pictures from inside the disabled train, showing mud and debris up against the side of the train car.

Passengers were transferred to another train which then returned to the Pleasanton station where ACE provided bus service to stranded passengers.