Agency probes Metro over handling of weekend track-fire incident

Metrorail’s regulatory agency is investigating whether a rail traffic controller told the operator of a train carrying passengers to check on a reported track fire. The fire shut down a section of the Red Line in Northwest Washington for part of three days. Metro on Monday denied that a train operator had been instructed to do a track inspection for the fire, saying the request was for an inspection on an unrelated circuit problem that didn’t pose a safety concern. The probe followed reports on social media about the incident, which was captured on dispatch recordings.