UPDATE Commuter Alert: Red Line Resumes Normal Operations After Fire

UPDATD at 10:30 am

Bethesda Station was closed for about two hours Tuesday morning because of a track fire outside the station, and delays continue.

Buses shuttled passengers to and from the Medical Center.

WMATA officials said via Twitter just before 10:30 a.m. that single tracking had ended. Users should expect residual delays in both directions.

Metro Transit Police said there was a fire between the Bethesda and Friendship Heights stations. Trains bypassed Bethesda Station until the track was clear.

Montgomery County firefighters investigated smoke in the tunnel.

Once the haze cleared, rail service was restored with trains single-tracking between the Medical Center and Friendship Heights.

Only inbound (toward DC) trains will stop at the station.

Following years of signal upgrades, Metro returned the Red Line to automatic train operation last month, WMATA said.