WASHINGTON – Metro riders will find residual delays on the Red Line after a power failure stopped a train in the tunnel between the Friendship Heights and Tenleytown-AU stations with roughly 1,000 people on board.
Metro says all Red Line service has been restored, but its Red Line trains are traveling at 35 mph until the transit agency determines what caused a power problem Wednesday morning.
The power problem that disabled the train forced riders to stay on board for about an hour. During that time, Metro kept the train in the tunnel until it reestablished power. The outage occurred at 4501 Wisconsin Ave. right outside the Tenleytown-AU station, according to Metropolitan police.
WTOP’s Hank Silverberg, who was at the Tenleytown-AU station, reports many of the passengers got off when the train returned to the platform. The train continued its regular service.
Passengers stuck on the train said it became very hot, but most remained calm.
During the incident, Metro closed the Tenleytown-AU station. It has since reopened.
Red Line riders should expect residual delays of 10 to 15 minutes in each direction, according to Metro.
Metro’s power problems started around 8 a.m. In a separate incident, a Metro spokesperson said 60 passengers had to be offloaded at the Rhode Island Avenue-Brentwood station because of a disabled train.
Shortly before 9 a.m., the website reported a power problem near the NoMa-Gallaudet U station and were single-tracking in that area.
After 9 a.m., Metro’s website reported a power problem outside the Friendship Heights station that forced trains to run on a single track between the Friendship Heights and Van Ness-UDC stations.
Metro’s power problems come a day after torrential rains drenched the entire Washington region, downing trees and power lines.
Follow WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
