The Metrorail system will remain closed until 5 a.m. Thursday. All six Metrorail lines and all 91 stations will be closed on Wednesday.
Metro General Manager/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld, with support from the Authority’s Board of Directors, today announced the full closure of the Metrorail system on Wednesday, March 16, for emergency inspections of the system’s third-rail power cables following an early morning tunnel fire yesterday.
The inspections of approximately 600 “jumper cables” will occur along all tunnel segments on the Metrorail system. At the conclusion of the inspection process, there may be a need for additional rail service outages. Any further service impacts will be announced to the public as soon as they are known.
Metrobus and MetroAccess service will continue to operate on a regular schedule. Limited, supplemental Metrobus service will be provided between Pentagon and Downtown DC (Franklin Square). Parking will be free in all Metro-owned lots and garages for customers who wish to take bus or carpool.
Alternate service options throughout the region will be extremely limited, and severe crowding is expected on buses. Consider the following alternates:
- Bus Service
- DC Commuter Bus
- MD Commuter Bus
- PA Commuter Bus
- VA Commuter Bus
- Vanpool
- MARC commuter rail
- VRE commuter rail
The public is advised to make alternate travel arrangements as early as possible.
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