A Metrorail work vehicle derailed near a Northern Virginia work site on the Yellow and Blue lines Tuesday morning, leading to hours of single-tracking and delays.
The derailment was first announced on social media at around 5 a.m., but Metro did not specify whether the derailed vehicle was a train or otherwise until around 6:30 a.m. Initial reports from Metro about the derailment also wrongly connected it to the Potomac Yard station.
The Potomac Yard station is being built between the Reagan National Airport and Braddock Road stations on the Yellow and Blue lines. It is projected to open in May.
Due to the derailment of the work vehicle, trains were single tracked every 18 minutes between those two existing stations, causing delays for Northern Virginia’s morning commuters.
The heavy rail work vehicle involved in the delay can drive on both the highway and on Metro’s rails, and is used to move equipment to a work site on the Yellow Line bridge, which crosses over the Potomac River between Virginia and the District of Columbia.
It was returning to the work site from the bridge Tuesday morning when it derailed.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager Randy Clarke apologized for the confusing communiques from the transit agency.
He also said there were no injuries and there was no connection between the derailment and the work on the Potomac Yard station.
The vehicle was not moved back onto the rails, thereby restoring normal traffic, until around 8:20 a.m.
