Updated at 5:02 p.m.

Amtrak officials said riders on its Baltimore to Washington line should anticipate delays of at least an hour or more Thursday evening because of an earlier problem that’s plagued the line all day with downed wires.

Just before 5 p.m., officials said they were operating trains on two of the three tracks that run in that area, but it was still limiting the capacity. In the early afternoon about 12 trains, carrying roughly 1,500 passengers between D.C. and Philadelphia were stuck in delays, officials said.

The wires went down in the Bowie area and officials said they believe they became knocked down as a train passed through the area. The wires power the trains.

Amtrak said they expect to have the situation resolved this evening and are “optimistic” that there will be no delays in the Friday morning commute.

On MARC, it canceled three of its trains in the evening that run between Baltimore and Washington and another train, leaving Washington that was to carry roughly 450 passengers, was expected to be late.

Updated at 4:26 p.m.

Amtrak said crews are working to make temporary repairs to the “overhead wiring system” in the area of Bowie, where downed wires have caused delays all day on its route between Baltimore and Washington.

In a news release, Amtrak said, “congestion-related delays are to be expected throughout the evening rush hour as we work toward full restoration of service.”

Updated at 3:47 p.m.

Amtrak and MARC restored some service on their lines between Baltimore and Washington Thursday afternoon after an earlier problem of downed wires along the tracks.

Just after 3 p.m., Amtrak said service on its Northeast line had “resumed in a limited capacity” between D.C. and Baltimore. Crews were continuing to work on restoring service as quickly as possible, but riders should expect delays in the evening rush hour.

MARC officials said in a twitter message around 3:30 p.m. that there would be partial service on its Penn Line.

Updated 12:43 p.m.

A spokesman for MARC said it was still not clear when service on the Penn line, which runs between Baltimore and Washington, would be restored as crews worked to deal with downed power lines on the track.

“We’re hoping to have [service] back,” before the evening rush hour, said Paul Shepard, a spokesman with the Maryland Transit Administration. He said the MTA is still investigating how the wires came down on the tracks.

Updated at 10:56 a.m.

MARC and Amtrak trains that run between the Baltimore area and Washington have been suspended until further notice because of a problem with downed wires.

A MARC spokeswoman said it was unclear how long the service will be suspended on its Penn line that runs between Washington and Perryville.

Metro is honoring the tickets of MARC passengers on its rail line. Buses, provided by MARC services, are in route to help riders get around. The buses will be at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Odenton and the New Carrollton stations.

MARC officials said they did not know why the wires were down. Service on MARC’s Camden line is not impacted.

PHOTO MT “@MonikaOn9: Marc and #AMTRAK trains btwn Union St and Baltimore suspended due to wires down @mtamaryland” pic.twitter.com/D54D5UcWjm — Brad Freitas (@NewsChopperBrad) April 3, 2014

Original post at 10:25 a.m.

Train traffic on MARC’s Penn Line is stopped in both directions until Amtrak can determine the extent of problems with downed wires, according to the Maryland Transit Administration. MTA officials said Train 523 from Perryville tore down wires near the Bowie station.

Metro is honoring all MARC tickets.