Bomb Fears Disrupt Red Line Commute

Metro bomb squad members prepare to check out a suspicious box found on the Red Line tracks near the New York Avenue station. (By Robert A. Reeder -- The Washington Post)

The report of a suspicious package on the Metrorail tracks in the Brentwood area of Northeast Washington prompted a three-hour shutdown of Metrorail service yesterday between the Rhode Island Avenue and Judiciary Square stations, disrupting the tail end of rush hour for thousands of commuters in a busy downtown stretch.

Metro halted service just after 9 a.m. after a track worker found a 12-by-12-inch fiberglass box, with Amtrak markings, near the New York Avenue station on the Red Line during a routine inspection, officials said. Metro's bomb technicians determined that the box did not contain explosives.

During the police investigation, Metro suspended train service and used 40 shuttle buses to ferry passengers between the two stations and the two in-between stations -- Union Station and New York Avenue. Service resumed at 12:10 p.m.