Power Failure Causes Havoc Downtown

The two track fires were caused by smoldering stud bolts -- pieces of hardware that help hold the track in place -- and closed the Metro Center station briefly during the morning rush, compounding delays, crowding and confusion at a major downtown transfer hub.

The first track fire at Metro Center was reported at 7:24 a.m.; the five stations lost power six minutes later.

In addition, the Dupont Circle station was closed for an hour and a half starting at 9:25 a.m. because some riders who had to walk up the long escalators at that station were tripping, Metro officials said. The escalators on the Q Street side are 188 feet long.

Delays and confusion were widespread. Metro trains going in opposite directions had to share a track to maneuver around the Metro Center fire.

As a result, trains were backed up in both directions on the Red Line, Metro's busiest, with delays stretching for hours as passengers sat on stalled trains or waited for shuttle buses that had to negotiate streets with no working traffic lights.

Lynn Ross, 31, who works at the Center for Housing Policy, got on her Red Line train at Silver Spring about 8:40 a.m. to head to Farragut North. As the train entered downtown stations, it became more and more crowded.

By the time it reached Gallery Place and Metro Center, "we were packed in like sardines," she said. On the platform, "you could see people five, six, seven deep waiting to get on."

When the train reached Farragut North, the station was very dark and crowded, she said. "It was very eerie," she said.

Like others, she pulled out her cellphone to use its light as a guide.

She could see no Metro personnel on the platform to direct traffic.

"I could see a woman who was wearing light colors, and I could see her outlines and I got behind her and followed her," she said.

During the afternoon rush, when business was back to normal, several passengers complained about the frequency of problems and delays on Metro -- from the derailment at the start of the week to broken escalators and elevators.

"There are so many delays, I don't even pay attention anymore," said Tammy Smutny, 44, sitting on a Red Line train headed home to North Bethesda. "It's just like an airport. You're just grateful if you get there safely."

Staff writers Sindya N. Bhanoo, Michael Birnbaum, James Hohmann, Ben Hubbard, David Nakamura and Mary Beth Sheridan contributed to this report