(Photo by Markus Krisetya)

Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has some advice for your evening commute: “If you have the ability to consider alternate travel options today, I encourage you to do so.”

The track fire that caused massive delays throughout the Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines this morning caused damage to cables that will need to be replaced. Rather than taking part of the system offline during the day, Wiedefeld has instructed that repairs begin at 9 p.m. tonight, when Metro will suspend service between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle entirely.

Until then, single tracking will be the name of the game unfortunate commute home. The Silver Line will continue only operating between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston. And during the evening rush, Blue and Orange line trains going eastbound will skip the Farragut West and McPherson Square stations.

Here’s the full schedule and WMATA’s suggestions.

Metrorail service plans between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m.:
• Blue and Orange line trains will share a single track between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle during the afternoon and evening hours. This will result in delays in both directions.
• Customers should consider travel alternates if possible, such as the Yellow Line between D.C. and Virginia or Metrobus routes if available.
• Blue and Orange eastbound trains will skip Farragut West and McPherson Square to reduce delays.
• Silver Line trains will operate between Wiehle-Reston East and Ballston only. Customers should use Orange Line trains to complete their trip between Virginia and DC.

Metrorail service plans from 9 p.m. until system closing:


• Beginning at 9 p.m., all Metrorail service will be suspended in both directions between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle to allow for repairs.
• Metro will provide shuttle bus service between the affected stations. Please allow additional travel time.

“I apologize for the delay, inconvenience and crowding you experienced this morning—and that you may experience again later today,” Wiedefeld said in a release.

He added that the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Transit Administration, and D.C. Fire Department are all looking into the incident. Despite a series of investigations and new safety changes, it involved the same kinds of cable that caused last year’s smoke incident in a tunnel near the L’Enfant Plaza station, which killed one woman.

“Basically, the older cables, where they connect to the third rail, something happened—a short circuit; I don’t know what the official term is—and it caused the condition of the flare up, which cause the fire in the actual cables,” Wiedefeld told The Washington Post.

Riders and their advocates have expressed outrage. “Some of the names and faces may have changed but #WMATA appears to be just as deadly today as 13 months ago” tweeted Chris Barnes (otherwise known as @FixWMATA). “30 minutes later this morning and we could be talking about a 2016 Carol Glover right now.”

Meanwhile, a Metro spokesman said earlier that the WMATA will not issue a large-scale refund for the morning’s mess, as the agency did in August when a when a train derailment caused significant service disruptions. Metro’s newly announced 15-minute grace period for riders to enter and exit a station without charge doesn’t start until July.

“We were able to communicate to riders earlier enough to make alternate plans,” spokesman Richard Jordan said. Those affected can call 202-637-1328 to individually request their money back, and Metro will consider their claims on a case-by-case basis.