Updated: 10:56 p.m., Monday night

BART service was being restored late Monday, following a system shutdown caused by computer problems, BART said.

The problem began around 7:30 p.m. because of computer problems in the Operations Control Center, according to BART. Service resumed about 9:52 p.m., BART said.

"The monitoring system that allows managers to view train movement was not functioning, and a preliminary review revealed that a router problem was preventing operational data from reaching the monitoring system," BART said.

Customers earlier were advised to arrange alternate transportation. Patrons could show their BART tickets to board Muni and AC Transit under mutual aid agreements among the transit agencies, BART said.

At the El Cerrito del Norte BART station, there were no signs posted about the halt in service, so some patrons were continuing to enter the station between 8:45 and 9 p.m. However, there were frequent announcements over the PA system about the break in service.

“I’ve been riding since BART first opened and nothing like this has ever occurred,” said Bill Pinkham, after he pulled up next to the station at about 8:45 p.m. on his bicycle.

After attending a bicycle-pedestrian advisory committee meeting in Richmond, Pinkham, who is on the board of directors of the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, headed for the Richmond BART station. He had planned to ride BART to the El Cerrito Plaza station on his way to his Richmond Annex home. 

After learning at the Richmond station that the trains weren’t running, he rode his bike to the Del Norte Station. When he found out the trains still weren’t running, he continued home on his bike.

Pinkham was luckier than most.

Nicholas Danby and Diego Gomez were headed back to San Francisco after visiting Danby’s mother. They estimated they had been in the station about half an hour. They had just missed one bus to the city and said the next wouldn’t be running until 1 a.m. Danby said they didn’t have the money for a taxi to San Francisco. He estimated from a previous trip that the taxi would have cost about $60.

One woman who exited the elevator with luggage in tow and loaded up in a taxi said she was headed for the San Francisco Airport. A few minutes later a couple with luggage came out of the station through the turnstiles and headed to the parking lot. They said they were also headed to the San Francisco Airport and would be getting a ride from a friend.

Hannah Garrett of Berkeley was on her way back from Marin and had taken a bus as far as the Del Norte station, where she had planned to board BART and ride to Rockridge. She instead waited outside the turnstiles for her father to pick her up.

A few minutes after 9 p.m., a Richmond-bound train pulled into the station. Ferissa Lagasca of Rodeo, who was getting off that train, said she had only waited a few minutes in the Berkeley Station before boarding but that others on the train said they had waiting about an hour.

A couple of other Richmond-bound trains followed in the next few minutes, as the PA system began announcing that most trains were holding in position but a select few were moving slowly and patrons were encouraged to take alternate means of transportation.

BART said it was able to resume "very limited" service using radio communication starting around 8:40 p.m.