What to Know
- Wednesday marked the fourth day in a row of problems on the Red Line.
- Firefighters went to Friendship Heights for an arcing insulator Wednesday, three days after an insulator fire created "heavy smoke" there.
- The Friendship Heights station closed, and Red Line trains single-tracked and bypassed Bethesda during the height of the trouble.
Normal service resumed on Metro's Red Line about 9:40 a.m. Wednesday after an arcing insulator at Friendship Heights briefly closed that station and caused trains to bypass Bethesda.
Trains single-tracked between Medical Center and Friendship Heights during the height of the trouble Wednesday, marking the fourth day in a row that problems have plagued the Red Line.
Firefighters responded to the Friendship Heights station for an arcing insulator. Three days ago, an insulator fire created "heavy smoke" at that station.
Riders were told to expect delays in both directions.
Earlier in the morning, a power outage affected elevator and escalator service at Medical Center. The power was restored about 7:45 a.m.
It's been a difficult week for some Red Line riders.
A track problem at the Woodley Park station Tuesday morning had trains single-tracking for more than an hour between Van Ness and Dupont Circle.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Unscheduled track work left trains single-tracking between the same stations Monday morning.
Sunday evening, an insulator fire created "heavy smoke" at the Friendship Heights station. A train was evacuated at the Tenleytown-AU station, and Red Line service was suspended between Van Ness and Medical Center. Firefighters worked to ventilate smoke between the Tenleytown-AU and Friendship Heights stations after trouble inside a mechanical room, the fire department said.
A spokesperson for Metro called Sunday's situation an arcing insulator incident.
In January 2015, an Alexandria woman died aboard a smoke-filled train after a similar emergency caused heavy smoke at the L'Enfant Plaza station.
