Washington Metro resumes service after 24-hour shutdown, details serious damage repaired

The Washington Metro resumed service after 24-hour delay — (Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

At 5 a.m. on Thursday, the Washington Metro regional commuter rail system resumed service after a hastily called 24-hour shutdown. New Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld had ordered the service pause so inspectors could look over 600 subway power cables, after a pre-commute fire broke out in one tunnel on Monday. The inspection crew found and repaired cables in three heavily trafficked areas where the damage was so serious that, if Metro had known about it, the lines would have been immediately shut down, Wiedenfeld said, adding, "This is what a safety culture looks like."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.