Train Network "BART" Outage Paralyzes Traffic in San Francisco

San Francisco experienced a near-total disruption to public transportation on Friday after a sudden stoppage on its major public transit system, disrupting all BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) trains serving the Bay Area and causing widespread chaos during the morning rush hour.

BART announced on its website: "Due to a computer network issue, BART services are suspended systemwide until further notice. Please seek alternative transportation."

The shutdown forced tens of thousands of commuters to seek alternative ways to get to work, with images showing heavy traffic on buses and reports of traffic jams on the Golden Gate and Oakland Bay Bridges, vital routes connecting the city to its suburbs.

BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost told ABC7 that the problem appears to be related to the system's operation after overnight maintenance, ruling out a cyberattack at this time.

The San Francisco train outage coincides with another outage that hit busy Newark Airport, one of three major airports serving the greater New York area. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said a communications failure affected the Philadelphia Air Traffic Control Center, temporarily disrupting radar and aircraft communications over Newark. The failure occurred at 3:55 a.m. and lasted only about 90 seconds, according to a brief official statement.