Metro Train ‘Mechanical Malfunction' Causes Smoke To Fill Gallery Place Platform

WASHINGTON, DC — DC Fire and EMS responded to smoke inside the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station in D.C. Monday afternoon, according to officials.

The smoke forced passengers to be evacuated from a train at the station, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said. No injuries were reported.

At about 3:15 p.m., a Red Line train on the platform at Gallery Place experienced a "mechanical malfunction" that caused smoke to enter the station, according to WMATA. DC Fire and Metro personnel responded to the scene.

Service on Metro's Red Line was suspended between Farragut North and NoMa Gallaudet, while Yellow and Green line trains were bypassing the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station.

The station reopened after 4 p.m., with Red Line trains serving the station on a single track, causing delays in both directions. Normal service on the Green and Yellow lines also resumed after 4 p.m., WMATA said.

Meanwhile, Metro Transit Police received the report of the shooting on board a train at the Columbia Heights station at 3:45 p.m. Monday, WTOP reported. A 19-year-old man was shot in the leg while inside a Green Line train. The man was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the report.

The entire Metro system is currently operating at reduced levels due to safety issues. In a Nov. 22 announcement, Metro blamed the continued service delays on the ongoing efforts to finalize “new inspection protocols” for its 7000-series rail cars and problems in obtaining parts for its 6000-series railcars due to strains in the global supply chain.

WMATA had to sideline 60 percent of its rail fleet in October after a derailment on the Blue Line. The system-wide delays are expected to continue at least through the end of 2021.