The incident occurred about 5 p.m. on a train bound for Huntington.

Metro said in a brief statement that the train was removed from service while the agency investigated what went wrong.

“We are aware of the report on social media,” Metro spokeswoman Sherri Ly said. “All passengers were accommodated on the next train without incident.”

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Passengers said the train had been stopped for about a minute when the doors suddenly opened, hundreds of feet from the National Airport platform. Despite Metro’s account, riders said the train continued to Huntington and the operator never acknowledged the mishap.

Ray Atkinson, 57, of Alexandria, was sitting in a window seat in a car toward the front of the train.

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All of a sudden, he said, “I heard the announcement ‘doors opening.’ I thought, ‘what?'”

Another passenger, Jay Robertson, 36, of Alexandria, said the incident lasted less than 10 seconds, but it was worrisome considering how crowded Yellow Line trains can get in the late afternoon. Luckily, he said, crowds were sparse on this particular train.

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Robertson was seated in the fifth car of the train when he heard the announcement. The train was stopped on a hill, banking right, as the doors opened on its left side.

“The doors opened, and it was probably 3 or 4 seconds, and then they closed again,” he said. “So it wasn’t super long, but it was long enough.”