Photo by Chris Reif

Photo by Chris Reif

Blue and Orange Line riders experienced delays this morning potentially caused by the weather. Earlier today, trains traveling in both directions on the Orange and Blue Lines were single-tracking between the Clarendon and Foggy Bottom stations because of track inspections.

In an email, WMATA spokesman Dan Stessel says that the inspections are due to a few “mechanical issues” encountered this morning. “We had a few trains earlier this morning that encountered mechanical issues after passing through this area, so we are performing track inspections as a precaution to make sure there is nothing along the track that is causing/contributing to those issues,” Stessel says. Although the exact issue that’s caused problems this morning hasn’t been determined, Stessel says that Metro has seen a “greater number of equipment problems this morning,” much like it did last time the temperatures were this low. “We’ve had several trains this morning that were unable to get ‘all doors closed’ indication as a result of snow build-up on the door tracks,” he says.

By 1 p.m., both the Blue and Orange Lines were no longer single-tracking, whike an exact cause of the mechanical issues this morning has yet to be determined. “Given the fact that several trains encountered mechanical trouble after passing through the Ballston-to-Rosslyn section,” Stessel says, “it was prudent to perform a track inspection to make sure there wasn’t something more to the story.”

For those who depended on the Orange or Blue lines this morning, it did not sound like a fun time:

But the Blue and Orange lines weren’t the only ones experiencing issues. At one point, all five Metro lines were experiencing delays because of the weather.

Filed Under: metro, metro track work, snow storm, weather, wmata,