WASHINGTON, D.C. – DC Metro rail’s total shut down on Wednesday

The entire Washington, D.C. metro rail system will be shut down on Wednesday. The shutdown is an effort to inspect electrical cables that were inspected last year when smoke killed a rider on the yellow line and caused dozens to be sent to the hospital. The closure begins at 12 a.m. on Wednesday and will last until 5 a.m. on Thursday morning. Metro’s decision to close the rail system for 29 hours came from an incident that occurred on Monday at McPherson Square.  The final conclusion came after a cable fire, which was the second in one year. “It’s happened twice in a year. I can’t wait for the third time,” General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said. “While the risk to the public is very low, I cannot rule out a potential life safety issue here, and this is why we must take this action immediately.”