BART restores full-speed service on Fremont line

BART restored normal, full-speed service today between Bay Fair and Fremont Stations -- a full month earlier than projected. Now trains on both the Richmond-Fremont and Daly City-Fremont lines will run on their regular schedules and make their usual stops all the way to Fremont.

On May 10, an electrical fire at the Hayward Maintenance Yard caused BART to reduce the normal two-route service to Fremont down to one. For nearly two months, Richmond-Fremont trains turned around at Bay Fair Station instead of running south to Fremont. That caused delays for some passengers because they had to transfer at Bay Fair Station.

The fire also caused delays for other passengers on the Fremont-Daly City line because while the trains went all the way to Fremont, they had to run slowly past the Hayward Yard, which is located between the South Hayward and Union City stations. That caused southbound passengers to arrive late and forced northbound passengers to show up at their station earlier than normal.

On July 4, BART began running both lines down to Fremont Station again, however, trains continued to move slowly past the Hayward Yard. As of today the service returned to full speed.

“We apologize for the inconvenience some of our passengers experienced,” BART Chief Engineer Don Allen said. “Immediately after fire broke out, our number one priority was to focus on the repairs that would restore normal service as soon as possible so we could eliminate delays. Our crews literally worked 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to accomplish that goal. We still have a lot more work to get the Hayward Yard fully operational, but at least those repairs won’t delay riders.”

All departure times now follow the timetable in the January 1, 2008, edition of the “BART Fares and Schedules” brochure. (479k pdf)

“I’m grateful the daily delays some riders experienced are finally over,” said BART Board Vice President Tom Blalock, who represents the four stations initially affected.