"It was absolutely ridiculous," Wagner said. "They knew the game was happening. . . . If they're going to run the Metro system, they ought to run it."
It was the first time the mother and daughter had taken Metro to a Redskins game. They thought it would be easier than driving. "Metro keeps plugging itself 'Take Metro to the game!' and then they hold the train for an hour?" Bobrow said. "It was horrible. We paid a fare -- it wasn't like they were doing it for free."
The Redskins also paid Metro -- $18,000 an hour to stay open two hours past the normal midnight closing. Redskins officials did not return telephone calls yesterday seeking comment.
Metro officials declined to provide information about the number of trains dispatched between midnight and 2 a.m. Monday. But they acknowledged that Bobrow's description of her journey was accurate.
Two weeks ago, Metro passengers complained of a similar problem after the Sept. 27 Redskins game.
Stephen Miller, 53, of Alexandria said he was stuck with dozens of others at L'Enfant Plaza Station for nearly an hour waiting for a Yellow Line train to take him to the Huntington stop. After several stops and starts, he said, he didn't arrive at the station until 3:15 a.m. His total travel time on Metro from FedEx Field to Huntington: two hours and 25 minutes.
Gallagher promised that Metro service for the next nighttime Redskins game will be better.
"We owe our customers a very, very sincere apology," he said. "I offer that personally. There's at least one more late game this year," on Sunday, Dec. 12 against the Philadelphia Eagles. "We will have a very well-coordinated and understandable operation for that evening," he said.
