Kendra Yoshinaga
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL)– After an unprecedented emergency shutdown, Metro will be resuming regular service at 5 a.m. Thursday, general manager Paul Wiedefeld confirmed in a press conference.
Wiedefeld said Metro’s teams will be working on repairs throughout the night. If they have not finished all of the necessary repairs by opening time tomorrow, Wiedefeld said Metro will single-track trains or provide bus bridges.
Metro was shut down all day Wednesday as repair teams inspected tracks throughout the system. At the 6 p.m. press conference, Wiedefeld said that the teams had covered about 86 percent of the tracks so far. They found 26 problem areas, 18 of which had been repaired.
The emergency inspections came just two days after an electrical fire near McPherson Square station Monday. The fire caused broad service interruptions on the Orange, Blue, and Silver lines.
Metro board chair Jack Evans said that while Metro regretted shutting down service, the inspections were necessary.
“We are aware of the inconvenience that was caused by closing down the system, but we still believe today that we made the correct decision because of safety. None of us, in good conscience, could send those trains out knowing the risks that we had.”
Metro’s safety inspectors will share their findings with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Transit Administration. Investigators will review maintenance records in an attempt to determine what safety oversights led to the cable problems.
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