The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) directed Metro Wednesday to prioritize repairs on a stretch of Red Line tunnel underneath Bethesda that has long been a source of problems for the transit operator.
Carolyn Flowers, acting FTA administrator, wrote in a letter sent Wednesday to Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld the agency is “directing [Metro] to take immediate action” to prioritize repairs on the segment of the Red Line that stretches from the Medical Center to Van Ness stations as well as two other segments of track on other lines in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
Flowers said required repairs between the Red Line stations include “cleaning drains, troughs and manholes; removing mud and debris from tracks and safety walks; sealing cracks and cleaning the tunnel liners; inspecting and repairing drainage pumps; inspecting traction power cables and welds;” and other work such as replacing corroded rail and repairing fasteners and bolts.
Flowers does note in the letter that “much of the urgent repair work” has been completed on the Red Line between Medical Center and Friendship Heights. However, she urged the transit operator to make similar repairs between the Friendship Heights and Tenleytown stations because of recent arcing insulator incidents that have caused smoke on that stretch of track. Arcing insulators happen when water or debris contacts the electrified third rail and causes smoke or fire.
Last week Wiedefeld unveiled his “SafeTrack” repair plan that focuses intensely on system maintenance and repairs over the next year. As part of that plan, nightly single-tracking was scheduled to take place on the stretch of Red Line between Medical Center and Friendship Heights from Jan. 2 to March 7 next year to allow for repair work.
Given FTA’s new directive, however, Metro will likely start those repairs earlier.
Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said in a statement Wednesday that the SafeTrack draft plan will be modified to meet FTA’s demands.
“The final SafeTrack plan will be released as soon as possible, but likely will not be ready by the original target date of May 16,” Stessel said.
Metro has previously detailed problems with arcing insulators caused by water seeping through the concrete liner in the Red Line tunnel between Friendship Heights and Medical Center, but over the past year Wiedefeld has said significant repairs have been made to limit their occurrence. The effect of those repairs was noticed by Montgomery County fire department spokesman Pete Piringer, who said last week firefighters have been responding less lately to incidents in the tunnel in comparison to last summer, when problems arose frequently.
