By Bay City News
BART tracks that were damaged when a train derailed in Concord on
Friday evening are expected to be repaired by Sunday morning, a BART
spokesman said on Saturday.
Regular BART service is expected to be fully restored to the
Concord, North Concord and Pittsburg/Bay Point stations by 8 a.m. on Sunday,
BART spokesman Jim Allison said.
Cranes hoisted the four cars involved in the derailment off of the
elevated BART tracks in Concord and crews repairing two sections of mainline
tracks and a damaged third rail, Allison said.
Cables and other parts of the trackway damaged by the derailment
will be replaced and an inspection of the rails for safety will be conducted,
the spokesman said.
Allison said the trackway sustained "significant" damage in the
derailment, which happened as an out-of-service train was leaving the Concord
station around 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
No conductors were injured in the derailment and no passengers
were on board at the time.
BART officials continue to investigate what caused the derailment,
which agency spokeswoman Alicia Trost said happened as the train traveled
over a switching mechanism known as an interlocking.
BART is continuing to run shuttle bus service between the Pleasant
Hill and Pittsburg/Bay Point stations as well as a shuttle train between the
Pittsburg/Bay Point and North Concord stations.
Those planning to take BART from Contra Costa County toward San
Francisco this evening are encouraged to take trains to and from the Pleasant
Hill station to avoid significant delays.
BART employees will be on hand at each of the four affected
stations to answer travelers' questions today, Allison said.
Copyright © 2014 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
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