Smoking BART Train At Orinda Station Causes Traffic Nightmare

A smoking train that had to stop at the Orinda station during the evening commute caused delays on the BART system as well as a traffic nightmare on Highway 24 and Orinda city streets on Wednesday night.

Trains weren't allowed to stop at the Orinda station for two hours and Camino Pablo was closed in both directions at Highway 24 for four hours.

The incident also affected Thursday morning's commute. The disabled train remained on the tracks overnight as crews cut through a 1,600-pound metal motor reactor piece. The train couldn't be moved to a repair yard until the reactor piece was removed from the tracks.

BART trains had to go through the Orinda station on a single track, causing delays in both directions.

The incident began at 6:08 p.m. Wednesday when smoke was reported on an eastbound Pittsburg/Bay Point train. The train stopped at the Orinda station and went out of service, said BART police Lt. Tyrone Forte.

Passengers were evacuated. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters arrived at the station at about 6:20 p.m. and attended to the fire, Forte said. Smoke was still visible coming from the train for more than a half-hour after that.

A BART official said the smoke came from a semiconductor box, but it was unknown at that time what was causing it.

Trains in both directions were required to pass through the Orinda station without stopping until 8 p.m. At that time, trains stopped and passengers were allowed to exit trains, but no new passengers were allowed into the station.

The incident caused 15-minute delays Wednesday evening along the Pittsburg/Bay Point line and the San Francisco International Airport line, BART officials said.

The incident also caused traffic backups along eastbound state Highway 24 all the way into the Caldecott Tunnel.

In addition, traffic on Camino Pablo in Orinda was blocked in both directions until about 10:30 p.m.

City officials reported the closure caused "severe traffic delays" on Camino Pablo and into the Theatre Square area downtown.

Motorists were advised by both Orinda and Moraga police to avoid the area while the north-south thoroughfare under Highway 24 was closed.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report