ASSOCIATED PRESS
Metro officials said they will act quickly to fix the power problems that hobbled train service for two straight nights, with officials blaming the shutdowns on aging infrastructure and a suspected lightning strike.
General Manager John B. Catoe Jr. said a power surge that may have been caused by lightning likely blew a transformer near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Sunday evening, sparking small fires and sapping power to trains running on the track.
The same problem re-emerged during the Monday evening commute, forcing Metro to close some Northern Virginia stations for several hours. Smaller fires were reported at other stations throughout the system both nights, but lightning was not considered a factor.
The agency planned to reconfigure power yesterday to compensate for the blown transformer. Trains between the Pentagon City and Braddock Road stations on the Yellow and Blue lines in Virginia were to run eight minutes apart instead of the normal six minutes last evening because of lower power levels. Technicians were to be posted at all of Metro’s 98 power substations to watch for problems.
Mr. Catoe apologized to riders, calling the service disruption the largest in Metro’s 31-year history.
“The issues that caused the failures on Sunday and Monday are issues we will fix, but it will take time,” he said.
Neither foul play nor terrorism was suspected, he said.
The service problems highlight Metro’s aging system, which Mr. Catoe said needs billions of dollars for upgrades to tracks, trains and other infrastructure. Metro, which is among the busiest bus and rail systems in the country, also is struggling to meet growing demand. A bill in Congress proposes to add $3 billion in federal and local money over 10 years.
Metro said it first noticed the blown transformer at 5:47 p.m. Sunday. A short time later, a fire erupted in an automatic train control room. Compounding the problem, two nearby substations were at partial power because of upgrade work. About 45 minutes later, a train lost power between nearby stations.
Service also was halted Monday evening at four stations in the same area because of recurring power shortages. Service was out for several hours as the problems persisted. By yesterday morning, trains were running without major problems.
It was not clear whether lightning or a power surge was to blame. Storms rolled through the area both Saturday and Sunday nights, and the National Weather Service reported frequent lightning strikes.
However, Dominion Virginia Power, which provides electricity to Metro stations in Northern Virginia, said it did not record any electrical problems around the time of the transit mess.
“There do not appear to be any disturbances in our system that could have caused these series of events on Metro,” said Dominion spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson.
She said Metro maintains its own wires within the transit system.
Mr. Catoe said Metro plans to accelerate other repairs because of the disruptions. That includes searching for corrosion in the 106-mile system rather than fixing problems when they arise, buying thermal imaging equipment to look for track flaws and fast-tracking a power upgrade program.
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