Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON – Passengers who rode on the orange, silver or blue Metro lines Friday will be getting a refund from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, for the inconvenience caused by a power outage on the third rail at the East Falls Church station.
People on the train when the outage happened had to get out and walk along the tracks with the help of first responders. Service on the line was suspended for 30 minutes. Once it started back up again trains were single tracking through noon.
“Given the significant service disruptions that inconvenienced riders over multiple commutes this week, we are taking this step to thank everyone for bearing with us. I also offer a sincere apology to everyone who was inconvenienced,” said Jack Requa, WMATA’s interim general manager, in a statement.
People who rode the orange, blue or silver lines between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday will get an automatic rebate on their SmarTrip cards. People who used paper farecards are out of luck.
It’s been a rough week of mounting frustrations for Metro riders on those lines. Thursday three empty train cars derailed at the Smithsonian Station, shutting down service between McPherson Square and Federal Center SW for hours. The stations re-opened in time for evening rush hour but were only single tracking, causing long delays for people anxious to get home.
Congressman Gerry Connolly told WMAL Friday WMATA has lost its sense of putting safety first. He said the problems this week emphasize how important it is for WMATA to find a new general manager with transit experience, something that’s not included in the transit agency’s job description.
