Frightening Incident on SF Muni Train Is Under Investigation by State Regulators

California’s public utility watchdog has launched an investigation into what caused a Muni train to barrel through a planned stop and come to a sudden halt in the middle of the road last week.

The California Public Utilities Commission said it is looking into the Sept. 24 mishap, which left passengers on the N Judah frightened that their train could have derailed or crashed into pedestrians or vehicles.

Shortly before 9 a.m., the train sped through its stop outside the East Portal of the Sunset Tunnel, commuters said, merging onto Duboce Avenue and taking multiple S curves in the track at top speed, knocking passengers standing in its packed aisles onto the floor.

Riders said the train didn’t begin to brake for multiple seconds after emerging from the tunnel, then finally slammed to a stop about a half-block later. Some told KQED that as they evacuated the train with little explanation, they smelled burning plastic.

Dani Serafica, who was in the first car of the train, told KQED that at that point, the driver emerged from the control booth visibly distressed, yelling that the brakes had not worked.

But Muni said in a statement that its own preliminary investigation found no mechanical issues with the train, raising questions about potential human error.

“Our initial review shows the train was mechanically sound and operating as designed, but we are taking a closer look at every aspect of what happened,” the agency said.

And so far in the CPUC’s investigation, the commission said it has confirmed that there is no ongoing systemic risk to passengers related to last week’s incident. The CPUC is tasked with overseeing rail transit safety in the state and investigating reports of injuries or damage.

The state investigation comes as several frightened passengers said they’ve received little explanation from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency about the dangerous incident.

Riders who spoke with KQED said they submitted complaints to the agency last week and received a stock response thanking them for their concern and assuring them that an investigation was ongoing. Several said they hadn’t heard any update from SFMTA.

Multiple riders who were in the front car of the train told KQED they didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary with regard to the driver before the abrupt stop, but one teenager who was riding the train to school told the San Francisco Standard on Tuesday that she had seen the operator slumped over the control board when she got on at the stop just before the Sunset Tunnel.

SFMTA said it could not provide details on the investigation related to personnel. Both investigations are ongoing.