PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (KGO) – A BART train to San Francisco from Antioch derailed Monday night between Concord and Pleasant Hill stations. BART officials say the likely cause is heat.
“The train began to shake violently when it stopped abruptly. The conductor got off and went to the back of the train. And then when he came forward, he started telling everyone to evacuate, “said Renee Davis, who lives in Bay Point.
Davis was trying to take his children to their mother so he could go to work in San Francisco. The three of them were sitting in the middle of the train as the rear two cars derailed.
“The heat can manipulate the tracks,” explains Alicia Trost, a BART spokeswoman.
In the past, extreme heat has caused BART tracks to move or lock. Rails can become soft and be damaged by the weight of the train.
Trost says the heat caused the rail to twist, forcing the last two cars to derail.
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There were a total of 50 passengers on the BART train. Everyone has managed to evacuate safely, evacuate. Several have been treated for minor injuries. One passenger was taken to hospital with back pain. Some passengers reported seeing smoke or fire. BART officials explain this with sparks that ignited after the derailment of the two cars, which caused several small fires. Trost says they were quickly put out.
Passengers managed to evacuate through a chain link fence. Ginesta Lee was one of them. She was on her way to Richmond when she felt a concussion.
“I have never felt this way before. And I thought maybe it was a tree branch or something. But (the train) continues. Although I was scared, I just thought, “God, just take us home!” She says with a laugh.
The California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees BART, says it is investigating the incident.
Update at 9:30 pm: Initial assessment is that heat played a major role in the partial derailment, causing a curve in the track.
The plan is to keep the bus bridge between Concord and Pleasant Hill tonight, but WE WILL have at least one tracking service train tomorrow.
– BART (@SFBART) June 22, 2022
We have a crew of 70 people who will work overnight to move the train, then cut the damaged track and replace it.
We will probably not put this track back into operation until 5 am, but the opposite track is not damaged and trains will run on it.
– BART (@SFBART) June 22, 2022
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