BART suspends Transbay Tube trains after communications failure, forcing riders to use bus alternatives Sunday night
Service stopped between San Francisco and the East Bay
BART suspended train service through the Transbay Tube on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, after a systemwide alert cited a loss of communications in the tunnel linking San Francisco and Oakland. The outage halted the rail connection that normally carries multiple lines under the bay, forcing trains to turn back on either side of the tube while crews worked to diagnose and restore communications.
By late evening, the disruption remained unresolved and BART had not provided an estimated time for the return of normal service. The rest of the BART system continued operating, concentrating impacts on riders whose trips depended on the tube for cross-bay travel.
Where trains were turning back
During the outage, trains were terminating at Embarcadero Station on the San Francisco side and West Oakland Station on the East Bay side, effectively severing rail service across the bay. That operating pattern is consistent with a tube-specific failure: trains can continue running within each subnetwork but cannot pass through the affected segment.
- San Francisco-bound and East Bay-bound rail trips across the bay were not possible via BART.
- Riders within San Francisco, the East Bay, and other parts of the system still had BART service, depending on line and location.
Alternatives: AC Transit Transbay buses and late-night service
BART directed riders to use AC Transit Transbay bus routes as substitutes for the rail crossing. The recommended options included Transbay routes serving downtown San Francisco and the East Bay, and BART also pointed riders to late-night bus service after midnight. In at least part of the disruption window, bus bridging was made available without charge to riders affected by the tube shutdown.
Operationally, a communications loss in the tube can prevent safe train movement even when tracks and power are otherwise available, because dispatching and train control depend on reliable links between trains, wayside equipment, and control centers.
Context: maintenance work the prior night and recent tube disruptions
The communications failure followed planned overnight work in the Transbay Tube on Saturday, Feb. 21, when BART warned riders to expect 20- to 30-minute delays after 10 p.m. due to single-tracking for lighting replacement. It has not been established whether the maintenance work and Sunday’s communications outage were related.
The shutdown also comes amid a recent history of Transbay Tube disruptions that have periodically forced service suspensions or single-tracking, including earlier incidents tied to power problems and equipment issues. Sunday’s event differed in duration and uncertainty, with service still not restored by late evening and no published estimate for recovery.
What riders can expect next
BART’s restoration timeline hinged on reestablishing communications in the tunnel and verifying safe operations before trains could resume normal bidirectional service. Riders traveling between San Francisco and the East Bay late Sunday and into early Monday faced longer travel times, crowding on substitute services, and shifting transfer points as agencies adjusted capacity to meet demand.