Smoke causes Red Line delays
UPDATE 3:09p.m.: The fire near Dupont has been extinguished, Metro says, but some delays may persist.
UPDATE 2:40p.m.: Major delays continue in both directions due to two problems downtown: An "arcing insulator" is on fire near Dupont Circle, and Metro employees are working to extinguish it, while several blocks south, Farragut North is experiencing a track circuit problem.
Those issues come on top of earlier disruptions at Gallery Place-Chinatown this afternoon. Metro says shuttle service has been requested--a step usually reserved for when service between two points is cut off entirely.
Original post: Metro says smoke on the tracks outside Dupont Circle Station is causing delays while trains share a single track between that station and Van Ness-UDC.
By
Michael Bolden
|
May 3, 2010; 1:55 PM ET
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Posted by: r6345 | May 3, 2010 3:11 PM | Report abuse
Wasn't there an insualator-related fire at Metro Center a week or two back? If I recall, it happened just after rush hour, and some people had delays of an hour or more due to single tracking from Gallery Place to Farragut North.
If it is the same part, is there a reason for two of them to have failed in such close proximity? Just the general disrepair of the Metro system?
Posted by: adbiosec | May 3, 2010 3:30 PM | Report abuse
Alright, the incident I was thinking of was actually a month ago now:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2010/04/delays_on_red_line_due_to_smok.html
Apparently, there was another one in Febrary:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/getthere/2010/02/red_line_trains_single-tracked.html
My question stands, is this a normal failure rate for this particular part, or is something unusual going on here?
Posted by: adbiosec | May 3, 2010 3:33 PM | Report abuse
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Normal service resumed on the Red Line at 2:50 p.m. Monday, May 3, after an arcing insulator near Dupont Circle Metrorail station caused major delays along the line.
A train operator first reported the arcing insulator at about 1:30 p.m. on the outbound track between Dupont Circle and Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metrorail stations in the direction of Shady Grove.
Red Line trains shared one track between Dupont Circle and Van Ness-UDC Metrorail stations while emergency personnel worked to extinguish the arcing insulator. In addition, Red Line trains were turned back at various locations throughout the Metrorail system to help minimize delays.
News release issued at 3:06 pm, May 3, 2010.