More Metro Insulator Problems Snarl Red Line

As Metro gears up for a year-long intensive effort to deal with the fire and smoke problems that have plagued the system lately, problems continue to crop up on a seemingly weekly basis -- and this morning's issues meant big problems for Red Line commuters.

Metro reported on its @Metrorailinfo Twitter account at 6:44 a.m. that two problems had been identified with an arcing insulator and power cable at the Medical Center Metro station, and maintenance crews had been working on it since arriving on the scene shortly after 6 a.m. The problems resulted in 20 minute delays for commuters, which swelled to 45 minutes in some areas near Grosvenor and Friendship Heights.

As of around 10 a.m., Metro maintenance crews were still working on replacing insulators after the arcing event, and track work was expected to continue through midday.

As smoke and fire problems continue to mount in the Metro system, general manager Paul Wiedefeld has released the final "SafeTrack" plan calling for condensing three years of work into one year, including 15 "Safety Surges" that will lead to extensive single-tracking or even shutdowns of entire segments of the Metro rail system. That means super-long wait times and extremely crowded trains for weeks at a time -- or, in some cases, no service at all.

Not surprisingly, Metro commuters weren't happy this morning: