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.
– 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
@ksimonetti @DevinRuic @unsuckdcmetro Foggy is shut down pic.twitter.com/0PqZEEvurH
— 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
///-----------------------////
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.