WASHINGTON — Metro has restored service on all lines Friday after a debris fire shut down parts of the Blue, Orange and Silver lines on Thursday.
The shutdown between Eastern Market and L’Enfant Plaza was the latest in a series of problems for the beleaguered rail system. On Friday, General Manager Paul Wiedefeld will make a previously scheduled announcement of major changes to Metro service based on large-scale, long-term repair work on the 40-year-old system.
The shutdown was the result of a debris fire at the Federal Center SW station on Thursday afternoon. All the third-rail insulators at the station were being replaced Thursday night.
It was the second smoke incident at the Federal Center station on Thursday – an earlier arcing insulator led to about a half-hour of delays on Thursday morning.
In an interview with NBC Washington on Thursday, Wiedefeld said the incident was caused by a debris fire.
Security cameras caught the dramatic smoke incident (Courtesy of NBC Washington):
No injuries were reported.
Metro had other problems on Friday morning:
- Red Line trains were bypassing the Van Ness-UDC station due to a power outage at around 7:15 a.m.; power was restored about a half-hour later.
- A train malfunction at Federal Triangle has been resolved, but residual delays on Largo-bound trains remain.
- And Largo-bound Blue Line trains experienced delays for nearly two hours between Braddock Road and Metro Center after a switch problem at Braddock Road. Normal service resumed at about 9:45 a.m.
