 |
| © Dominic Bracco II/The Washington Post |
The decision for the unprecedented closure was made by the board of directors and Wiedefeld in a telephone conference call earlier this afternoon.
They took the step after an electrical fire in a Metro tunnel early Monday, which caused huge delays on three subway lines, involved the same type of track-based power cables that burned during last year’s fatal Yellow Line smoke incident in another tunnel, the transit agency said.
The unprecedented, non-weather-related shutdown tonight is to avoid a repeat of the deadly incident.
“While the risk to the public is very low, I cannot rule out a potential life safety issue here, and that is why we must take this action immediately,” Wiedefeld said. “When I say safety is our highest priority, I mean it. That sometimes means making tough, unpopular decisions, and this is one of those times. I fully recognize the hardship this will cause.”
Asked why the shutdown could not be delayed until the weekend Wiedefeld said, “From where I sit the safety of the public and my employees is paramount,” Wiedefeld.
During the shutdown, about 600 cables will be checked in all tunnels in the system.
The system will be shut down at least for one full, 24-hour ridership cycle, from midnight Tuesday to midnight Wednesday.
However, if potentially dangerous cables are found in the inspections, then the closure could be extended while repairs are made, Wiedefeld said.
A full shutdown could have been avoided if the board had decided to conduct the safety checks over six days, a Metro official said.
The Washington Post’s transportation reporter Dana Hedgpeth gives us the backstory to the much-maligned mass transit system. The bad news? The long waits in the tunnel aren’t going away anytime soon. The good news? Metro is faster than you thought. (Brad Horn/The Washington Post)
But the board, with support from Wiedefeld, decided to shut it down entirely because of concern about Metro’s liability if an incident occurred before the safety checks were complete, the official said.
No details were immediately available about the location or seriousness of the fire at 4:30 a.m. Monday. But the incident was sufficiently similar to the Jan. 15, 2015, smoke calamity that it raised concern that a repeat was possible. In that case, an electrical malfunction on tracks near the station that day filled a tunnel with smoke, engulfing a stalled Yellow Line train in fumes. Scores of passengers were sickened and one died of respiratory failure.
“The investigation into yesterday’s cable fire at McPherson Square is ongoing,” Wiedefeld said. “As a preliminary matter, the conditions appear disturbingly similar to those in the L’Enfant Plaza incident of a year ago, and our focus is squarely on mitigating any risk of a fire elsewhere on the system.”
Wiedefeld said cables throughout the system were inspected last year and 125 were replaced. The cable that burned on Monday was inspected and passed. Even so, given Monday’s incident, Wiedefeld said he thought it was critical that all 600 cables in tunnels throughout the system be re-inspected.
“We have to get out there, saturate the entire system at these 600 locations and do the inspection,” Wiedefeld said.
The inspection work requires inspectors to be on the ground close to the third rail, which provides power to the system. It could be done without a complete shutdown, but the work would take more time, Wiedefeld said.
“The most prudent thing is to close down the system and find out what we’re dealing with,” said Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans (D-Ward 2). “I am not willing to take a chance.”
An official in D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s office said she was alerted to the impending shutdown “in the 3 o’clock hour” and had little advance warning before news of the decision leaked publicly. “Obviously, we’re very disappointed,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because a formal statement from the mayor was forthcoming.
D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) and chair of the council’s transportation committee said she received no official warning and learned of the news from the Internet.
“The problem sounds mysterious and maybe this is a fairly dramatic step, but maybe it’s the kind of step that we need to get things right,” Cheh said. “I told the people in my office, ‘break out your bikes.’”
So far, no local school systems have announced any closures related to the shutdown but some officials expressed concern over how their teachers and other employees might get to work.
A spokesman for the federal Office of Personnel Management said no decision has been made on whether government offices will be open.
“OPM is actively coordinating with WMATA, D.C. and regional governments, and regional transportation entities to assess the current situation,” he said. “OPM will have guidance for agencies on the status of the Federal Government shortly.”
At the Federal Triangle Metro station, federal workers toted briefcases stuffed with documents and laptop bags in anticipation of working from home Wednesday
"All of us are taking home our computers to prepare," said Gary Worthman, 58.
Jerel Williams, an information technology contractor for the federal government, said he had repeatedly checked the Office of Personnel Management website for an update.
He was "very surprised" by the news of the closure but said "I'd rather be down for a day than have something else happen."
Some like Lori Mennitt, 52, of Falls Church, were upset by the closure, especially after going through a nightmarish commute Monday. Mennitt said she sat on an Orange Line train from West Falls Church for 90 minutes Monday to get to Federal Triangle, and the commute home was only 30 minutes shorter.
"Are things that bad that they can't do it on a Saturday?" she asked. "There are going to be a lot of angry people."
Perhaps because of his walkable commute, from Eastern Market to Federal Triangle, Christopher Herman, 69, said Metro made the right call.
"I'm glad they're erring on the side of caution," he said. "We made a major investment in this system and you've got to protect the investment."
0 Response to "DC Metrorail Shut Down"
Thanks for give comment.