Washington Metro to Shut Down Wednesday for Safety Checks

The Washington DC area's troubled Metro subway system will undergo an unprecedented 29-hour shutdown on Wednesday for an emergency safety investigation of power cabling, officials said on Tuesday.

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The shutdown of the second-biggest U.S. subway system from 12 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT on Wednesday) to 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) on Thursday could raise massive headaches for the federal government as hundreds of thousands of employees are left without a way to get to work. The shutdown of the 119-mile (230-km) subway system, which has been plagued by equipment breakdowns and fires, will allow safety officials to inspect about 600 underground cables for worn-out casings, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority General Manager Paul Wiedefeld said at a news conference. Read more....

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