A miserable morning commute on the Red Line Wednesday morning was prompted by a standard track review, officials said just after noon.
The Metro vehicle that inspects the tracks with a laser found something that "didn't look right" at Judiciary Square. At that point, repair crews were called in to fix a problem with the track switch -- which led to widespread delays throughout the system.
At about 6 a.m. WMATA announced that customers on the Red Line should expect delays between 20 and 30 minutes during rush hour due to an unscheduled switch repair near Judiciary Square.
The switcher was fixed around 8:30 a.m., News4's Tony Tull reported. Trains resumed normal service at 8:32, though residual delays will remained for hours afterward.
Through much of rush hour Wednesday morning, trains were single-tracking from Farragut North to Judiciary Square -- and at Metro Center and Gallery Place, all Red Line trains arrived on the Glenmont platform.
Riders tweeted that delays were longer than WMATA predicted -- some complained of waits of 35 minutes to more than an hour, and overcrowded trains.
"My 20 minute commute from [Silver Spring] to NOMA has taken more than an hour. Been sitting at Rhode Island for 30 mins," tweeted rider Jess Milcetich.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Every other train offloaded and turned back at the Farragut North and NoMa stations, and WMATA said riders should consider the Green Line at Fort Totten or Metrobus as an alternate route.
