BART to restore Richmond-SFO ‘red line’ service
BART says its red line trains between Richmond and the San Francisco International Airport and Millbrae stations will resume service Tuesday, two weeks after going out of service.
Trains had not run on the line since an electrical issue due to a substation fire March 6. After the fire, BART officials learned that 50-year-old power cables providing electricity for the trains to run had sustained damage.
BART spokesman Jim Allison later told this news organization that the damaged cables were installed in the 1970s when BART first began service, with replacement set to begin on March 10.
The power issues that affected the substation directly affected the power traction on the tracks, Allison said. The damaged cables have not been able to feed enough electricity to power the red line, he said.
Riders used to regular service on BART’s red line, as well as its orange line between Richmond and Beryessa stations, have had to switch lines or take shuttles during the service outage, which began March 7.
In the interim, trains had been moving every 15 minutes in both directions until 8 p.m., going to 30 minutes after that. Orange line riders had used the system’s Antioch-to-SFO yellow line before transferring at MacArthur station for S.F.-bound trains and at 19th Street/Uptown Oakland for Richmond-bound trains for Transbay service. In Millbrae, riders had taken shuttle trains to and from the SFO station before transferring to BART’s yellow line.
On Monday, BART announced that it will run five-car trains along its red and orange lines, because the still-broken power cable limits 10-car use along those lines.
For now, the five-car trains will stop mid-platform at stations, requiring riders to queue centrally for the interim. Should red-line service fall short again Tuesday, BART recommends riders take an orange line train and transfer accordingly.
“BART will continue to run 5-car trains on both the Red and Orange lines while crews repair and ultimately replace the power cables,” the agency said in a series of social-media posts Monday afternoon.
“Thank you for your patience and your support. Even during this reduction in service for some riders, we had record breaking ridership.”
On Sunday, BART served 55,214 riders, reaching 59% of its baseline service rate.
Red line service between Richmond and Millbrae will be restored Tuesday!
Red (Richmond-Millbrae) and Orange (Richmond-Berryessa) line trains will run with five cars. 5-car trains stop at the center of the platform so don't wait at the ends.
— BART (@SFBART) March 22, 2022
Staff writer Rick Hurd contributed to this report. Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.