Update: BART fixes power issues that caused stuck train on Transbay Tube, major delays

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bay Area Rapid Transit officials announced Friday night that power issues that led to a disabled train inside the Transbay Tube and major delays through much of the day have been resolved.

The agency said shortly before 11 p.m. that normal train service has been restored, nearly 16 hours after service became disrupted.

According to BART spokesman Jim Allison, the issue began at 7:11 a.m. when a substation providing electricity to the trains in the tube went offline. Some 200 passengers were stranded for about two hours on a disabled train inside the tube, caused by electrical equipment problems that persisted throughout the day.

Passengers on Friday morning's disabled train were in the dark during the long delay inside the tube until it was eventually powered back up, arriving at the West Oakland station about 9:15 a.m.   

"We are making progress diagnosing the problem," Allison said in a voicemail update at 9:45 a.m. "The substation which went out was actually following a fail-safe procedure. There may be a problem in the Transbay Tube and the connections providing electrical connection to the trains."

The power issues in the tube forced the system to juggle its normal schedule.

"Red Line service is temporarily cancelled," transit officials tweeted at 9:30 a.m. " Green Line trains that normally go through the Tube are instead being diverted to MacArthur. Yellow and Blue line trains are single-tracking through the Tube. Orange Line is operating on its normal schedule."

A shuttle train was established between SFO and Millbrae station and bus bridges were also set up. Officials advised commuters to seek alternate forms of transportation aboard AC Transit buses. At Ashby Station, it's the F bus, at Fruitvale Station the O bus and at 19th St. Station, the NL bus.

San Francisco Muni was also providing mutual aid between Embarcadero and Daly City stations.

Delays remained system-wide as trains single-tracked through the tube and other BART lines had service suspended.

Just before 2 p.m., BART said service was temporarily stopped between West Oakland and Embarcadero stations while crews repaired the ongoing trackside power issue.

Around 2:20 p.m., BART advised the systemwide delays would remain through the end of service Friday night because trains would be single-tracking in the tube for the rest of the day. People were advised to seek alternate transportation, including on AC Transit which was offering free rides on transbay lines.

At 8:45 p.m., the agency said that single tracking would continue through end of service Friday night. Crews were still working in the tube and test trains were being run on the impacted track to prepare for normal service on Saturday.

While there was no immediate word if the issue is the same, the advisory stirred up memories among passengers of the woes the system suffered on Sunday in which service was also stopped in the Transbay Tube because of equipment problems.

Trains were forced to turn back before the tube on both sides of the bay and passengers had to be removed from those trains.