3 years ago
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Smoke and small fires crippled the Metro train system in a large part of northern Virginia on Monday evening -- the second night of disruptions that officials attributed to electrical problems. A fire broke out on the tracks at the Pentagon City station in Arlington, Va., about 7:30 p.m., officials said. Trains were halted and four stations were closed in Arlington and Alexandria, including Reagan National Airport's busy station -- where smoke halted service Sunday. Something was wrong with the transit system's power supply, but officials hadn't determined the cause, Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. No injuries were reported.
"We are doing everything we can to try to identify what the problem is," Farbstein said. "It's extremely troubling just for one day, let alone two."
A fire also was reported Monday evening at the U Street-Cardozo station in Washington. That station was closed for about an hour, along with the Columbia Heights station.
Earlier Monday, transit officials said they were investigating whether a sudden electrical surge in northern Virginia might have caused five similar incidents that shut down several rail stations on Sunday evening. Deputy General Manager Gerald Francis said the outbreak was unprecedented in Metro's 31-year history, and he apologized to riders for the inconvenience.
"We have pulled together a team representing several operational departments to determine the cause of the incidents," Francis said in a statement. "We know our riders were frustrated." As part of its investigation, Metro was working with Dominion Power. A spokeswoman for Dominion said workers from the utility company were called to the incident at Reagan National Airport on Sunday but were released when Metro officials described the situation as an "internal communications room problem."
"I think it's safe to say there are lots of theories out there as to what caused this," said Dominion spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson. "We have no records of any electrical problems within the Metro system due to Dominion's equipment."
Anderson said Dominion was in talks with Metro about the possibility of an investigation. But she said Metro maintains its own wires within the transit system, and Dominion only provides electricity at stations in Virginia, not the District of Columbia.
D.C. Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said his investigators were working with Metro to determine the cause of the fires. He stressed that no one was in danger.
"It's more of a nuisance than a hazard," Rubin said.
