"Now NBC Bay Area has an investigative piece about what could be the likely culprit behind both incidents, though this has not yet been confirmed. A former BART engineer, Barney Smits, who led the agency's fire safety program tells NBC Bay Area that caked-on iron dust, which collects on electrical insulator caps from trains passing along tracks, can cause electrical arcing and "flashover" incidents, which can lead to dangerous fire and smoke conditions, particularly in closed environments like tunnels."
"Dust that collects on and near insulator caps along BART's electrified third rail was potentially to blame for a scary August 29 incident in which an apparent fire in the Transbay Tube led to smoke entering a moving train. BART has had its share of technical snafus this year, including two major, systemwide, morning-commute meltdowns on May 9 and September 5 that were blamed on software or computer upgrade troubles."
Caked-on iron dust accumulates on electrical insulator caps from trains and can cause electrical arcing and flashover, producing dangerous fire and smoke in enclosed tunnel environments. Insulator caps prevent current from the third rail from reaching the ground, but dust buildup can compromise their function. Recent incidents include an August 29 Transbay Tube train that filled with smoke and an October 7 smoke event at Embarcadero linked to a blown insulator or equipment issue. The system also suffered major, systemwide meltdowns on May 9 and September 5 blamed on software or upgrade problems. A similar 2017 incident prompted a prior maintenance program.
Read at sfist.com
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