International News

WASHINGTON, (APP/AFP) – Washington’s metro
train system will shut all day Wednesday for emergency inspections after an electrical fire in a tunnel, transport chiefs said, in an unprecedented move that threatens to cause mass disruption in the US capital.
It is the subway’s first system-wide closure for non-weather-related
conditions, Metro chairman Jack Evans said Tuesday, admitting it would likely trigger transport misery for hundreds of thousands of commuters and tourists.
The metro system — the second busiest in the United States after New
York — serves about 700,000 customers a day in Washington and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia, where many commute from into the capital.
The closure was to begin at midnight (0400 GMT Wednesday).
“We will suspend rail service for 24 hours to inspect 600 underground
jumper cables. The entire rail system will be closed until 5:00 am Thursday,” Paul Wiedefeld, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, told a news conference Tuesday.
It is the latest bad publicity for the Washington metro, which has 91
stations and began operating in 1976.
In January last year, a woman died and dozens of people were injured
after thick smoke filled a metro tunnel during evening rush hour due to an electrical malfunction.