Cracked Rail Causes Red Line Delays

On Thursday morning, Metro warned riders to expect major delays on the Red Line due to a cracked rail near the Tenleytown station.

The transit agency said trains shared a track in both directions between the Friendship Heights and Van Ness stations. The disruption lasted throught the morning commute, setting riders back by 20-30 minutes.

Every other Red Line train was turning around at Farragut North and heading back to Silver Spring, due to the single-tracking.

Many trains were packed to capacity, forcing riders to remain on the crowded platforms to wait for the next one. One rider described train riders "sardined" into the cars.

News4's Tracee Wilkins said trains were slow to leave the Tenleytown station because crews had trouble closing the overstuffed cars. As riders tried to cram themselves on, the doors fluttered open and closed, contributing to the delays.

Officials said the cracked rail was on some of the oldest track in the system.

“It is among the oldest,” Metro GM and CEO Richard Sarles said. “And it’s in a difficult area, and it’s where we’ve been concentrating our focus for the past year, really, not only dealing with the tracks, but the fasteners, the signal system.”

Metro, which is trying to fill a $124 million budget shortfall, was finalizing its plan to increase fares Thursday. Thursday’s cracked rail demonstrates why Metro needs to raise the fares, Sarles said: To help pay for overdue maintenance and upgrades.

“We replaced miles of rail last year; we’ve got more miles of rail to replace this year,” Sarles said. “But this is going to go on for a number of years to bring this system back up to shape.”

UPDATES:

At 9:30 a.m., Metro was still trying to determine what caused the cracked rail.

10:02 a.m.: A crane has been moved into position at the site of the damaged rail and crews are starting work. Repair work will likely take several hours, Metro says they hope it will be done by evening rush hour.