Monday, May 11, 2015

RETRO METRO: ARCING INSULATOR AT FOGGY BOTTOM UP IN SMOKE AGAIN. METRO SUSPENDS SERVICE ON ORANGE, BLUE AND SILVER LINES







MAY 11, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC

– Train service is suspended on the Orange, Silver and Blue lines between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon/Arlington Cemetery.
– An arcing insulator at the Foggy Bottom caused reports of smoke extending to Rosslyn.
– No injuries have been reported, but major delays continue.
– Shuttle bus service is limited for those who are stuck. Buses are running from Rosslyn to the Pentagon.

Updated at 10:24 a.m.
Plenty of riders also expressed frustration that they were charged as they entered stations along the lines in Northern Virginia and then got caught up in long commutes and crowded stations and buses with little information on how to get around the delays from Metro officials.
I've been on @WMATA for 3 hours! Horrible commute this morning in #WashingtonDC metro system.
— Darnella Moore (@HisLoveEvang) May 11, 2015
Metro needs to be taken over by a Control Board, like DC was during the worst of the Barry years
— Joe Flood (@joeflood) May 11, 2015
Updated at 10:22 a.m.
Washington Circle has now reopened. The area was shut off to traffic earlier by D.C. Police.

UPDATE: 23rd Street, NW from Washington Circle is now OPEN to traffic
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) May 11, 2015

Updated at 10:16 a.m.

D.C. Police have now blocked off 23rd Street NW’s southbound lanes at Washington Circle because of the fire department’s work in responding to smoke in Metro tunnels, officials said on social media.

23rd St S/B @ Washington Circle Closed due to DCFEMS responding to smoke in Metro tunnels. Alt routes are in green pic.twitter.com/vl56vKpieS
— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) May 11, 2015

Updated at 9:59 a.m.

Some frustrated Metro riders said there was a lack of information from the transit agency as to where commuters could go to get shuttle buses and avoid the mess on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines.

“It is an absolute nightmare,” said John Bevir, a TV cameraman from the U.K. He said he left his home near the Virginia Square Metro station and got stuck in the mess. Completely frustrated, he walked the three miles from that station into downtown near the White House, where he was scheduled to do a film shoot. He was not alone. He said 60 to 70 other Metro riders left the rail system and also walked across the Memorial Bridge.

Bevir’s commute went from being 25 minutes on a normal weekday to more than two hours.

“I walked past six bike racks and there wasn’t a single bike in any of them,” he said, referring to the Capital BikeShare program. “I haven’t yet seen a taxi that wasn’t full and there were 300 people trying to get on a bus at the Rosslyn stop.”

“There was just no other option,” he said as he hoofed it along M Street NW in Georgetown.

“The lack of information has made this spectacularly difficult.”

Updated at 9:45 a.m.

Metro riders shared their frustrations on social media at their long commutes from the morning of major delays in Northern Virginia.

Sally Dadjou said on Twitter that she left her Falls Church house and it took her two hours to get to the Federal Center stop. “Hellish day on Metro,” she said.
More than 2 hours after I left my house in falls church, I've finally arrived at federal center. Hellish day on metro. #wmata
— Sally Dadjou (@sdadjou) May 11, 2015

Other riders reported long waits at stops.

@dcmetrosucks I've been at WFC for an hour now. 1 train east, 5 west, plus another repeatedly playing "just the tip" w/ middle tracks
— Kyle Harbaugh (@MtFuzzmore) May 11, 2015

Updated at 9:13 a.m.
Officials said they expect to reopen part of the rail lines in Northern Virginia soon but warned that delays would continue and trains would likely be sharing a track. There was an arcing insulator earlier at the Foggy Bottom stop and that caused reports of smoke at the Rosslyn station.

Firefighters responded to the scene in Arlington and in D.C. There were no reports of injury.

It's like the apocalype in rosslyn this morning…cc @ARLnowDOTcom pic.twitter.com/gr3CZish8U
— Ashleigh Hughes (@ABouknight) May 11, 2015

For riders, the problem created major delays and overcrowding on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines.

Station manager just told everyone to exit the Rosslyn station. #wmata pic.twitter.com/jwhefVHE4A
— Mark Alves (@markalves) May 11, 2015
Argh for lots of riders —
Lots of frustrated people trying to get on the shuttle at Foggy Bottom #wmata pic.twitter.com/sC07BTxeXb
— Matt Herbert (@Matt_Herbert_) May 11, 2015
@ARLnowDOTcom line for Metro bus service wraps around entire city block pic.twitter.com/TSolcn54bv
— David Hawkins (@khnashi) May 11, 2015
Major crowds were reported at stations.
SV train offloaded at #Rosslyn. station closed. dangerously crowded. @unsuckdcmetro @FixMetro #wmata pic.twitter.com/xTRqJbvWhB
— GiGi Bregani (@GiGiBregani) May 11, 2015

Riders got off the train and took buses, taxis and Uber car services. There were reports of major price surges on Uber —  in one case, almost five times the regular prices.

A separate incident that happened at the Capitol Heights Metro stop is now over. Fire officials in Prince George’s County said rail service has reopened between Capitol Heights and Addison Road stops. There was a report in that area of an arcing insulator there as well. Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said that incident at Capitol Heights was a “maintenance issue” and it was unrelated to the incident at Foggy Bottom. He said that it was not contributing to the delays at the Rosslyn stop.

U/D METRO – rail service has reopened between Capital Heights and Addison Road Stations. All PGFD are returning.
— Mark Brady (@PGFDPIO) May 11, 2015

Updated at 9:03 a.m.

Metro said riders should avoid its rail system in Northern Virginia as there are major delays from an earlier incident involving an arcing insulator near the Foggy Bottom stop.

Firefighters were on the scene and there were no reports initially of injuries. There were reports of smoke at the Rosslyn stop as well.

Dan Stessel, a Metro spokesman, said it was not immediately clear when the situation would be resolved. He said dozens of shuttle buses had been dispatched to the area but that it was tough to replicate the heavy amount of trains that go through the Rosslyn tunnel each day. He said tens of thousands of riders were impacted.

“That’s the busiest point, with the highest density of riders,” Stessel said.
Another incident in Prince George’s County at the Capitol Heights station also involved an arcing insulator but that was brought under control and not causing major delays, officials said.

It was a mess for riders on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines —
Organized chaos outside Rosslyn #Metro 9:03am as people figure out how to reach destinations. @wmata #metrofire pic.twitter.com/32yrDE2TQM
— Jennifer Bost (@TVChick16) May 11, 2015

Updated at 8:52 a.m.

Metro said there are significant delays Monday morning on its rail lines in Northern Virginia. There was an earlier report of an arcing insulator at the Foggy Bottom stop. No injuries have been reported at this time but there have been reports of smoke.

In a Twitter message, just before 9 a.m., Metro said that service was operating between the Franconia and Greenbelt stations, via L’Enfant stop. Riders should transfer at the L’Enfant stop for service in the direction of Foggy Bottom, they said.

Overcrowded platform at Ballston – 8:50 am @unsuckdcmetro – worst I've ever seen it pic.twitter.com/P1jl77KM2C
— Anna Mahalak (@annamarieDC) May 11, 2015

Updated at 8:44 a.m.

An arcing insulator at the Foggy Bottom stop caused major delays on the Blue, Orange and Silver lines on Monday morning.

Commuters reported crowded platforms and few trains. Metro suspended service on the lines between Foggy Bottom and Arlington Cemetery and between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon.

It is not clear how long the delays would last. Officials at Metro did not return phone calls seeking comments.

Firefighters in Arlington said they were on the scene at Metro’s Rosslyn stop and that there was no visible smoke but just an odor of smoke. An official with Arlington Fire department said there were no reported injuries.

D.C. Fire officials are also said to be responding to a report of smoke at the Foggy Bottom stop.

Metro said it was sending buses and suggesting that riders use buses as an alternative to the rail system.

At the Clarendon stop, there were crowds and people on cell phones as they tried to figure out alternate routes. Some commuters just decided to set up and work outside in a plaza area. Outside the stop on Highland Street, there was a block long line of people waiting for Metro shuttle buses waiting for buses.
In addition, Prince George’s County Fire officials said in a Twitter message that they were also dealing with an issue at the Capital Heights Metro stop. They said there were no trains in the tunnel there but a report of smoke with light haze entering that station.

U/D METRO – no trains are in tunnel – there is smoke in tunnel with a light haze entering the Capital Heights Station
— Mark Brady (@PGFDPIO) May 11, 2015

Updated at 8:34 a.m.

Arlington County Fire officials said they are at the scene at Rosslyn Metro stop and as of 8:30 a.m. had no visible smoke in that area but there remained an odor of smoke.

They also said there are no reported injuries.

They had been called to the scene for a report of smoke earlier in the morning. D.C. Fire was also said to be responding to the Foggy Bottom station.

Capt. Gregg Karl with the Arlington County Fire department said there was a report of an insulator fire at the Foggy Bottom stop. He said generally as the trains move, they pull smoke through the tunnel.

Chaos at Foggy Bottom. All trains off-loading due to track problems in Rosslyn. 
— Matt Herbert (@Matt_Herbert_) May 11, 2015
Happy Monday. Firemen are evacuating Rosslyn Station. #wmata @unsuckdcmetro @Metrorailinfo pic.twitter.com/5dGJSFp7U6
— Phil (@philweldon) May 11, 2015

Updated at 8:17 a.m.

Metro said it is suspending train service on the Orange, Blue and Silver Lines between several stops after a report of smoke near the Rosslyn stop.
The service is suspended between Foggy Bottom and Arlington Cemetery and between Foggy Bottom and Clarendon. Firefighters are responding to the scene. Details about the incident were not immediately known.

Metro said it is requesting buses. It is not clear how long the delays would last.
So @drgridlock Doors closed on ppl trying to exit train…not cool! Thete's inconvenience and then there's unsafe. pic.twitter.com/2aJ4ekDM8E
— SheilaDC (@SheilaDC) May 11, 2015
— Tom (@FOIAsaxa) May 11, 2015
— Locks (@thisislocks) May 11, 2015
Empty train. Overcrowded platform. Zero instructions. Banner morning, #wmata. @unsuckdcmetro pic.twitter.com/95qDmA9Kan
— ksimonetti (@ksimonetti) May 11, 2015
#Orange @wmata train offloaded at East Falls Church cc @unsuckdcmetro pic.twitter.com/JOeEuG7SNd
— Micah Himmel (@Micah_Himmel) May 11, 2015

Updated at 8:11 a.m.

Multiple riders on Metro said there are reports of heavy smoke at the Rosslyn stop in Northern Virginia on Monday morning.

Train conductor reports 'heavy smoke at Roosyln'. @wmata @RebuildRenew
— Robert Puentes (@rpuentes) May 11, 2015

At 8:15 a.m., Arlington County Fire officials said they had received a call from Metro for a report of smoke and are sending personnel to the Rossyln stop.
Metro officials did not immediately return calls. Earlier in the morning, Metro had said trains were sharing a track between the Addison Road and Stadium Armory stops. They said riders should expect delays.

Updated at 7:45 a.m.

Trains are sharing a track between the Addison Road and Stadium Armory stops.

There was an earlier track problem outside the Addison Road station. It was not immediately known how long the delays — in both directions of the Blue and Orange lines — would last.

Original post at 7:29 a.m.

Riders on Metro’s Orange, Blue and Silver lines should expect delays on Monday.
There was a disabled train at the McPherson Square stop.

OR/SV/BL line passengers may experience delays, disabled train at McPherson Square. 7:19a #wmata

— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) May 11, 2015

And there was a track problem outside of the Addison Road station.
Blue/Silver Line: Expect delays to Franconia-Springfield & Wiehle-Reston East due to a track problem outside of Addison Road.

— Metrorail Info (@Metrorailinfo) May 11, 2015

It was not immediately clear when the problems would be resolved.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com

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Smoke appears in Washington subway system three times in two days

February 22, 2015

A mechanical failure on a Washington subway train caused smoke to fill a station stop on Sunday in the nation's capital, the third such incident in two days, according to officials.

L'Enfant Plaza station briefly filled with smoke after a mechanical issue occurred around 11 a.m., Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.

He said officials were looking to see whether the failure was connected to a recent bout of wintry weather.

On Saturday evening, firefighters responded to a report of smoke and fire on a train line connecting Washington's Foggy Bottom station to a stop in Rosslyn, Virginia. The fire was caused by problems with system's electrified third rail, Stessel said.

Earlier on Saturday, around noon, passengers riding another train were evacuated after faulty brakes caused smoke to fill Woodley Park Metro station, officials said.

No injuries were reported during the incidents.

The three incidents come just one month after an arcing insulator in a tunnel near the L'Enfant Plaza station filled a car with smoke, killing one woman and sending 84 people to area hospitals. 

The system, which operates in Washington, D.C., as well as the Virginia and Maryland suburbs, is the second-busiest in the country after New York City's subway network.