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[CNJRoss]

WMATA news release, 3/16:

 

Metro responds to water infiltration in Yellow Line tunnel near L'Enfant Plaza

 

Shortly after 11:30 a.m., Metro received a report of water entering the Yellow Line tunnel south of L'Enfant Plaza. Metro removed third rail power on the inbound Yellow Line track. Upon inspection, engineers found water breaching the tunnel wall under pressure (see video below).

 

While there is no risk to the structural integrity of the tunnel, Metro has taken this action to prevent water from spraying on the electrified third rail. Yellow Line trains are single tracking between L'Enfant Plaza and Pentagon City. The source of the water has not been determined, but all indications are that the water is originating from outside the Metro system.

 

Service Information

Yellow Line trains are subject to delays due to single tracking. Green and Blue line trains, while not single tracking, may experience congestion-related delays due to Yellow Line trains waiting to proceed through the single-track zone. Customers on all three lines are advised to allow additional travel time.

 

Metro will provide an update on an estimated time of repair once more information is known.

 

 

 

[CNJRoss]

WMATA news release 3/16:

 

Metro completes repair of Yellow Line tunnel leak; Yellow Line service restored

 

Metro has completed repairs to the Yellow Line tunnel south of L'Enfant Plaza where water was entering the tunnel earlier today. 

 

The leak was first reported around 11:30 a.m. by a train operator. Metro structural engineers and inspectors responded and determined that the water was entering the system from outside the Metro system. Third-rail power was de-energized for safety reasons.

 

From 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., Yellow Line trains were single tracking between L'Enfant Plaza and Pentagon City. Normal two-track service has been restored.

 

It has not yet been determined whether the source was ground water or from a non-Metro-related pipe outside the tunnel wall.

 

Customers should expect normal service for the evening commute. As a reminder, Yellow Line trains are scheduled to run less frequently due to SafeTrack Surge #13.

 

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio, 3/18:
 

Groundwater likely to be source of Yellow Line leak

 

Federal Transit Administration safety inspectors note other parts of the Metro system facing similar water issues, including portions of the Red and Blue Lines.

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON — The water that burst through the side of the Yellow Line tunnel outside L’Enfant Plaza Thursday is believed to be groundwater, a Metro spokesman told WTOP.

 

The tunnel south of the station, where deadly smoke filled a train in 2015, passes under the Southwest Waterfront.

 

In documents released Friday, however, Federal Transit Administration safety inspectors note other parts of the Metro system facing similar water issues, including the Red Line near Bethesda, Friendship Heights and Van Ness, as well as the Blue Line between Addison Road and Capitol Heights.

 

Continue here w/photos.

[CNJRoss]

WTOP radio. 3/27:
 

Metro boss: Can’t be sure water break won’t happen again

 

 

WASHINGTON — Very close to where water in a tunnel contributed to the electrical arcing that led to Carol Glover’s death on a smoke-filled Metro train, groundwater recently burst through to the tracks. In an aging system, Metro cannot be certain it won’t happen again.

 

“What we had with the Yellow Line is, again, a very old system, and you have an encased tunnel there. You have rivets in effect that were put in there. And over time, they wear out,” General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said late last week.

 

Asked how he can be sure the water will not gush through the wall again, or worse, Wiedefeld said Metro does examine issues like that, “but things can still happen.”

 

Continue here.