The Washington, D.C. Metro is expected to be up and running at 5 a.m. on Thursday. | AP Photo D.C. Metro to reopen Thursday

Metrorail will reopen tomorrow morning at 5 a.m., but single-tracking or bus links may be put in place between stations if WMATA cannot fix problems identified in today's system-wide inspections.

As of 5 p.m., 26 jumper cables or connector boots were found needing replacement or repair, and the agency anticipates the number to grow slightly, Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld told reporters. Eight of them had not been fixed at the time of tonight's press conference, he said.


Metro investigators are examining the history of the damaged equipment and will share information with FTA and NTSB. The review will cover whether any procedures or standards were not met, Metro said.

While the problematic cables did not seem to present an imminent fire risk, they posed a hazardous condition "we cannot accept," Wiedefeld said.

"Let me tell you that the shutdown today was necessary," he said.

The defects were clustered around portions of the Orange, Blue and Silver lines that intersect the width of Washington, covering swaths of the city from the National Mall to east of the Capitol.

Earlier today, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said FTA will launch an inspections "blitz" next week focused on three other safety problems WMATA has experienced - trains running red lights, emergency brake usage and track integrity.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this whiteboard incorrectly identified the number of defects that had been repaired at press time; eight remained unrepaired.

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