Shutdown of Washington's Subway Prompts Calls for Better Funding
- Nation's second-busiest system has been beset by breakdowns
- Monday fire similar to one that killed passenger last year
A Metrorail train takes off from Union Station on March 15, 2016, in Washington.
Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The decision to suspend service on Washington’s troubled rail transit system Wednesday for a safety inspection prompted calls for more stable funding and oversight of the nation’s second-busiest subway.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced the extraordinary shutdown after officials raised concern that a fire Monday in a cable appeared similar to one last year that filled a tunnel with smoke and sickened scores of passengers, killing one.