We were still asleep this morning and didn’t realize there were major delays on the Red Line until 7:30 a.m. WMATA has posted a release about the discovery and repair of a section of “defective” tracks between the Friendship Heights and Bethesda stations.

From WMATA:

A Metro contractor who conducts specialized track inspections while the Metrorail system is closed to customers, identified the problem with a stretch of track between the Bethesda and Friendship Heights Metrorail stations while testing those tracks last night. The problem was discovered at 2:37 a.m.–approximately two and one half hours before the rail system opened.

Fortunately, this didn’t affect things like the fractured rail at Judiciary Square that mired the Red Line in delays in October. Or, for that matter, the Woodley Park train crash on Nov. 3.