SAN JOSE — All BART stations were back online by Sunday afternoon after a computer issue shut the transit agency down all morning.
BART spokesman Jim Allison said the agency restored service to all San Francisco, Peninsula and East Bay stations. Staff were still gathering information about the computer communication problem. In a thread posted on Twitter just before 2 p.m. Sunday, BART officials said one of the dozens of field network devices failed “disrupting the operational communications network.” The system, BART said, “went into fail safe mode and shut down.”
“Engineers and technicians worked to locate the failed device and to restore communications functionality,” BART officials said. “It’s unacceptable not to have service. Engineers have implemented a configuration change to the network which i expected to protect against future device failures that could potentially shut down the system. We apologize for not being able to provide service earlier.
Just minutes after BART was supposed to begin service at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, a service alert was sent out warning weekend travelers to seek alternate transportation options. The agency said partner transit agencies, including AC Transit, CCCTA, Tri Delta, WHEELS and MUNI were providing bus service throughout its service area.
Service was first restored at all East Bay stations, e-BART and the Oakland Airport connector, just before noon Sunday. The agency was able to send trains into San Francisco as far as Montgomery Street station at first, but could not open service south into the Peninsula until about 12:20 p.m.
In a earlier statement posted on Twitter, BART said it had experienced a “computer communication problem.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
