Washington metro to suspend service for entire day
07:37, 16 March 2016
WASHINGTON. KAZINFORM - The Metrorail service in Washington, DC capital region will be suspended on Wednesday for safety inspections following a tunnel fire that paralyzed the metro system on March 14, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said in a statement.
In January 2015, one person died and another 83 were hospitalized after the Washington metro tunnel filled with smoke from fire.
"While the risk to the public is very low, I cannot rule out a potential life safety issue here, and that is why we must take this action immediately," Wiedefeld stated on Tuesday.
The authorities will inspect metro cables, as well as other segments of tunnels.
"At the conclusion of the inspection process, there may be a need for additional rail service outages," the statement added.
On Monday, a tunnel fire disrupted service of three Washington metro lines. Wiedefeld said the investigation into the incident is ongoing, Sputniknews.com reports.