2024-01-02 06:12:02
ORINDA, Calif. (AP) — Several people suffered minor injuries and service was disrupted when a commuter train derailed and caught fire on New Year’s Day in the San Francisco Bay Area, officials said.
The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train had just left the city of Orinda heading to the city of Lafayette at approximately 9 a.m. Monday when the two front cars went off the track, said Jim Allison, agency spokesperson.
All passengers were evacuated and firefighters quickly extinguished the flames, he added.
Several travelers were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Allison said. The total number of injuries was unknown at the moment. The rest of the passengers walked back to the Orinda Station.
Passenger Enrique Gonzalez said the train was delayed, and when it started moving once more he heard a “few loud booms” and saw “smoke rising from between the cars.”
“I was sitting right there at the window and I saw the flames rising,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Early indications are that the derailment occurred on an interlocking section of the rails, where trains can change tracks, Allison said. It was not immediately clear what caused the failure regarding 8 miles (13 kilometers) northeast of Oakland.
Authorities did not immediately say how many people were aboard the train when it went off the rails.
Service was interrupted on a 12-mile (19-kilometer) stretch of track between Rockridge and Walnut Creek in both directions, the Chronicle reported. BART officials said the Orinda station would likely be closed the rest of the day as crews remove damaged cars and inspect the tracks.
Although the transit system was carrying fewer passengers than usual on New Year’s Day, the suspension of service will likely affect tens of thousands of people, Allison added.
“It is certainly unfortunate that people are stranded on a holiday like this,” he lamented.
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