BART reduces speed during Bay Area heatwave

BART officials announced Friday that they will reduce the speed of trains systemwide as Bay Area cities see record temperatures on Friday and over the Labor Day weekend.

Transit officials said the reduced speed will take effect between noon to 8 p.m. on most outdoor portions of the transit system. Riders can expect travel time increases of 10 and 20 minutes, according to BART.

The transit agency said they are reducing speed as a precaution in case there is any rail movement caused by the weather. Officials said reducing speed will also give operators more reaction time in case there are any abnormalities with the rail tracks.

BART expects to reduce the speed of trains at least through Sunday, but will monitor the weather and rail tracks to see if the speed reduction needs to go beyond Sunday.

As a reminder, BART is closing a portion of its East Bay trackway for maintenance work during the three-day Labor Day weekend holiday.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.