After a power substation caught fire on Sept. 21 and led Metro to have Orange and Silver line trains skip the Stadium-Armory station during morning and afternoon rush hours in order to reduce energy stress, the transit agency today announces that regular service will return to the station Monday.

Riders who regularly use the Stadium-Armory station to access Metrorail have been forced to rely on Blue line trains during those times, which are supposed to run every 12 minutes. Metro Interim General Manager and CEO Jack Requa says today that emergency repairs at a power substation near the Potomac Avenue stop will allow three extra megawatts of energy to feed the Stadium-Armory stop, since the adjacent Potomac Avenue substation now has a capacity of seven megawatts. But despite such a “creative” improvement to the transit system’s energy infrastructure, passengers may still notice continuous delays:

“Metro will continue to run trains on the Orange and Silver lines at 8-minute intervals during rush hours, rather than 6-minute intervals, until the Stadium-Armory power substation is restored later this year,” a Metro press release explains. “Blue Line trains will continue to run every 12 minutes, as usual.”

Crews are still working to repair the Stadium-Armory substation, and “on schedule,” Metro says; hopefully, it will be back online by the end of the year.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery