Metro riders were slammed with delays Thursday morning

Metro riders faced additional delays Thursday morning as crews investigated track problems along the Red, Blue and Yellow Lines.

Emergency crews were outside of the Friendship Heights station around 5:30 a.m. after reports of a possible arcing insulator. Trains along this portion of the Red Line were delayed for at least 15 minutes while the problem was addressed.

Along the Blue / Yellow Lines, a possible switch problem outside of the Braddock Road station caused minor backups in both directions.

At around 8 a.m., Metro crews were investigating a second possible arcing insulator near the Red Line's Grosvenor Station causing delays of up to 30 minutes.

These delays came on the last scheduled day of Metro's SafeTrack Surge #1 maintenance plan. Surge #1, which began on June 4, involved the single tracking of Orange and Silver line trains between the East Falls Church station and Ballston station.

Surge #2 of Metro's SafeTrack plan will begin Saturday and will shut down service along portions of the Blue, Orange and Silver lines between the Eastern Market and the Minnesota Ave and Benning Road stations.