Here’s a report from Bruce Shelburne, a Rail Operations director, that explains the loss of traction power last night and the repairs underway that may continue for a couple of weeks but cause only minor delays:

At 9:28 p.m. on Saturday night, the Pasadena Water and Power Department incurred a power service interruption, in turn impacting multiple Metro Gold Line Traction Power Substations.  Significant damage was sustained to one of the substations.

Gold Line service was suspended between Southwest Museum Station and Del Mar Station, with buses used to travel between the two stations, including service to Fillmore, Mission and Highland Park Stations.

Metro Wayside Department crews were able to repair power systems adequately to restore service to northbound Track 1 at midnight, allowing trains to share one track in the area with speed restrictions.  The time between trains was 30 minutes.

Still, a significant amount of work needed to be completed to repair additional damage to allow for the power system to support the return of power to Track 2.  With the opening of revenue service this morning, trains continued to run every 30 minutes at reduced speed.

At 2:45 p.m., power was restored to Track 2.  Trains were added to service and the regular Sunday service frequencies have been restored.  However, all service between Del Mar and Southwest Museum Stations will be operated at reduced speeds until further notice, as all repairs have not been completed.  Final repairs may take up to a couple of weeks, as additional Power Systems specialized components need to be acquired from the supplier.

Passengers using the Gold Line should plan for and expect delays that will be at least 3 to 5 minutes in each direction.

Should power supply conditions change before the morning peak period, additonal information will be posted on www.metro.net as necessary.  Likewise, staff will be assigned to stations in the morning if necessary.

We apologize for the inconvenience to all of our passengers.