West Oakland BART Station Closed; No Transbay BART Service Till PM

A fire early Thursday morning near the West Oakland BART station has left thousands of commuters with a rude awakening as there is no BART service between Oakland and San Francisco.

The transit agency said the fire broke out around 2:15 a.m.at a senior housing complex near the station and quickly spread to BART property. It damaged electrical equipment, forcing the closure of the station.

BART officials said there is no morning train service between Oakland and San Francisco. Currently, they estimate that they will be able to single-track trains through West Oakland by early Thursday afternoon and hope to resume full service by the evening commute.

Richmond to Fremont lines are running as are trains from the Peninsula into San Francisco. AC Transit is honoring BART tickets for transbay service to San Francisco as riders can board buses at the 19th Street, Fruitvale and MacArthur stations in Oakland. Another option is ferry service from Oakland or Alameda to San Francisco.

What makes it even worse is there is an afternoon baseball game at 12:45 between the Giants and Astros at AT&T Park and the first round of the U.S. Open is taking place at the Olympic Club. Plan ahead and expect heavy traffic on the roads throughout the day.

Check 511.0rg for the latest traffic information and alternative routes.

Photo Credit: ShakataGaNai, via Wikimedia Commons

It's simple. Keith Mizuguchi loves to write and write and write some more. After taking a hiatus from the journalism business, he has rekindled his passion for writing over the last two years, holding a job as both a web and on-air writer for San Francisco news radio station KCBS. While he enjoys the news business, his true passions are twofold: sports and food. Bay Area born and raised, he lives in San Jose, commutes to SF and loves every minute of it. You can follow his food adventures on Twitter @foodie_keith.