A fire on September 21 severely damaged the Stadium Armory power substation (Courtesy of WMATA.)

Stadium Armory customers, and anyone affected by the recent rush hour service slowdowns on the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines, are likely to see relief several months before expected; Metro said today that the station may return to normal service by the end of the year.

The problems stem from a fire exactly one month ago, which destroyed critical parts of the nine-megawatt power substation that serves Stadium Armory. While Metro works to rebuild the substation, they are bringing in power from elsewhere.

To avoid overloading the system, Metro implemented speed and capacity restrictions, which caused delays and congestion on the lines. In an effort to mitigate those issues, Orange and Silver Line trains began skipping Stadium Armory during rush hour—leaving customers there to only be served by the Blue Line.

All of the restrictions were slated to remain in effect for at least six months to completely rebuild the substation, a spokesman said at the time.

But Metro said today that some of the equipment appears to be temporarily salvageable. Engineers will “likely” be able to restore two of the three transformers to “factory-quality condition” and put them into service until all three are replaced. If they are able to do that, the transit agency will be able to restore normal service to Stadium Armory.

“Metro and its contractors are working as quickly as possible to restore the traction power equipment, including around-the-clock demolition efforts and expedited procurement procedures,” WMATA said in a website tracking the work. “We sincerely appreciate your understanding as we work to restore full power.”

Metro also shared some scenes from the site and a video explaining the repairs:

Courtesy of WMATA.