BART closes South Hayward station after substation fire
HAYWARD — BART officials closed the system’s South Hayward station after a fire broke out at a nearby electrical substation Tuesday evening, authorities said.
The station closed around 6:20 p.m. after an explosion at the substation just before 6:15 p.m., with Hayward Fire Department firefighters responding to the scene.
A commuter said she had just exited the station and reached her car in a parking lot when she noticed smoke rising from a parking lot on the station’s other side.
“I got to my car and I saw a big cloud of smoke and flashes of light,” she said. “At first I thought it was a car that caught on fire, but the explosion of noise kept going on. Then I saw all of the first responders and fire trucks coming in.”
Station staff were turning back trains along the Berryessa line at Hayward and Union City stations, with mutual-aid service provided by AC Transit’s No. 99 line between Hayward, South Hayward and Union City stations, according to BART spokesman Chris Filippi said at 6:30 p.m.
By 7:15 p.m., there were no reported injuries and no word on whether the station would reopen, Filippi said. An hour after that, a BART social-media account said the fire was out, but that on-site inspections were continuing.
In a separate issue, BART commuters briefly saw major delays around the same time due to an unrelated equipment failure issue in Downtown Oakland in the Dublin-Pleasanton, Berryessa, Richmond and San Francisco directions, but those were downgraded within minutes.
Check back for updates.
BART service has stopped at South Hayward station due to a substation on fire. Fire crews are responding to the issue. @rideact bus line 99 is providing alternate service between Hayward, South Hayward and Union City stations. https://t.co/XPcI3gtXrc pic.twitter.com/HwO09RLnql
— SFBART (@SFBART) March 2, 2022
This equipment issue in Downtown Oakland has been resolved. Green and Blue line trains are now running normal service. System is recovering from the major delay in all East Bay directions, expect residual delays. https://t.co/yFcP8IB2a8
— SFBART (@SFBART) March 2, 2022
We now have a bus bridge set up as trains continue to turn back.
The earlier fire at the power substation near South Hayward station has been put out but we are still doing inspections. https://t.co/TwqIxCCLT5— SFBART (@SFBART) March 2, 2022
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.