Red Line service restored after electrical issue, smoke led to single-tracking

Metrorail weekday ridership has failed to significantly rebound from the additional declines it faced last year and weekend ridership has cratered in Northern Virginia, new data shows (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WASHINGTON — Metro riders who take the Red Line experienced a bit of a messy commute Tuesday morning.

Trains were single-tracking between Farragut North and Judiciary Square for about two hours Tuesday morning following a report of smoke on the tracks. Service had been suspended from Farragut North to Gallery Place/Chinatown for about 30 minutes earlier Tuesday morning.

Riders should continue to expect residual delays throughout the morning, Metro said.

Smoke was reported on the track between the Farragut North and Judiciary Square stations shortly before 8 a.m., according to Metro.

The incident was caused by an electrical issue that caused sparks and “arcing” from the track bed, Metro tweeted. Metro said it received the OK from the D.C. Fire and EMS to restore service with single-tracking in effect.

D.C. Fire and EMS tweeted that one person had a minor injury unrelated to the incident. At about 9 a.m., the fire department said via Twitter that firefighters were “turning the scene over” to Metro “as the incident has been declared a maintenance issue.”

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