Metrorail system to shut down for at least 29 hours beginning at midnight

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Tue Mar 15, 2016, 05:48 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: Washington Post

By Robert McCartney and Lori Aratani March 15 at 4:35 PM 

The entire Metro system will shut down for at least 24 hours starting at midnight tonight for safety checks of electric cables, General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said Tuesday.

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.
....

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.


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2016/03/15/8e0b2be4-eae8-11e5-b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html

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Hat tip: coworkers, and, soon, pretty much every sentient life form for miles around.

Tomorrow might be "bike to work" day. Hmmmmm.

Entire Metrorail System Will Shut Down On Wednesday

The comments at DCist will be off the scale. Do not miss them.

[Action_Patrol]

1. Tough news for anyone going anywhere near the Beltway

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Beltway? No problem. Within the Beltway? Yikes. NT

[Action_Patrol]

4. I don't know

It's expanded so much, everything is going to be screwed up. It will just be that many more cars on the road.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. "... everything is going to be screwed up."

Seven words of pure wisdom.

[LiberalEsto]

2. Thanks for posting this info

While I'm thankful that Metro is seemingly taking safety more seriously, I wonder how my husband is going to get to work tomorrow. I'm out of town visiting our baby granddaughter so I won't be able to drive him into DC. Oh well, maybe he can telecommute,

[swilton]

6. Wednesday will be one

TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE!

[jpak]

7. My favorite SiFi movie of all time

best of luck DCers...

[PghTiny]

8. Federal folks can telework or take unscheduled leave per OPM

Still going to be fubar that whole day

[phylny]

9. Is there a good reason they didn't schedule the track work

for over the weekend?

[Recursion]

11. They always have trackwork scheduled every weekend

Which means anything that's not already on the work schedule they have to find some other time to do.

[phylny]

12. That makes sense.

Thanks for the explanation

[Recursion]

10. Holy crap (nt)

[mahatmakanejeeves]

13. Washington braces for full day of Metrorail shutdown to deal with safety concerns

I came to work on a bicycle. I took the Mt. Vernon Trail past National Airport. It didn't take much longer than my usual trip. Traffic didn't look bad at 7:30 - 8:00 a.m. I think a lot of people stayed home.

On the way home, I might go via the Pentagon. I have no idea how to get around that on a bicycle. I brought bicycle maps from Arlington County and from Alexandria. I didn't bring a DC bicycle map, but I know where I'm going in downtown DC.

Confession: I was biking on some sidewalks in downtown DC, which you're not supposed to do. Being in the jammed lanes of traffic seemed much riskier. I have a bell, a headlight, and a brake light, in addition to reflectors. I am also not as fast as I used to be.

Transportation

Washington braces for full day of Metrorail shutdown to deal with safety concerns

By Ashley Halsey III, T. Rees Shapiro, Susan Svrluga and Faiz Siddiqui March 16 at 7:10 AM 
@ashleyhalsey3rd
@TReesShapiro
@SusanSvrluga
@faizsays

The hundreds of thousands of people who normally take Metro to school and work turned to cars, bicycles and buses Wednesday morning as the rail system shut down for an emergency inspection of 600 electrical cables, two days after one of them caused a fire that crippled the system.

Thousands of drivers set out before daybreak, hoping to beat a rush hour they feared would be among the worst in memory. Some arteries that move swiftly before dawn on any other weekday were thick with vehicles before 6 a.m.

“We’re preparing for the worst,” said Jennifer McCord, a spokeswoman at Virginia’s Department of Transportation.

The anticipated turmoil caused by shutting down the country’s second-busiest rail system was unlike any other. In the past, when heavy snow or hurricane remnants have slowed or halted subway service, everything else in Washington was at a standstill. On Wednesday, however, federal and other offices were open for business and most schools planned a normal day.

[Hayabusa]

14. Super mutants, raiders, or feral ghouls?

Sorry, been playing too much Fallout 3 lately...

In all seriousness, this is yet another sign on how bad we've let the infrastructure in this nation fail...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. Quick tips for biking during #metromeltdown

Quick tips for biking during #metromeltdown

March 15, 2016 | Colin Browne

Metrorail is closing Wednesday for 24 hours to take care of some things.

Here are some tips if you’re considering biking instead:
{snip}

https://twitter.com/wabadc

Bike Arlington

https://twitter.com/BikeArlington

Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee on Facebook