Three workers seriously injured in electrical ‘mishap’ at Bethesda’s Medical Center Metro station
Additional incident Monday leads to single-tracking on Red Line
By
Elia GriffinJune 8, 2026 11:51 a.m. | Updated: June 8, 2026 11:57 a.m.
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Three workers were seriously injured Monday morning during an “electrical mishap” at the Red Line Medical Center Metro station in Bethesda, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) spokesperson Pete Piringer.
The workers, who were contractors for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), were electrocuted around 7:45 a.m. while working in an electrical shaft at the station, Piringer said in a video posted Monday morning on social media. He said the incident was initially reported as an explosion.
The Medical Center station is at 8810 Rockville Pike near the National Institutes of Health campus.
According to Piringer, at least three workers injured in the incident were transported to local hospitals for treatment of electrical burns, among other injuries.
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The workers were inside an electrical shaft outside of the station when they were electrocuted, according to Piringer. He noted the shaft was a “fairly confined space,” but first responders were able to rescue all of the workers.
In a statement posted around 9 a.m. on social media, WMATA said it was responding to the electrocution incident, noting it involved “multiple workplace injuries” with Metro contractors. WMATA said the incident was under investigation.
WMATA and Piringer said at the time that the station remained open and service had not been impacted.
— Metro Forward (@wmata) June 8, 2026
Later in the morning, another electrical incident occurred at the station around 10:40 a.m., Piringer said in an additional post on social media.
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He said MCFRS crews and WMATA’s emergency response team had extinguished a small fire in the station due to an “arcing electrical connector” on the tracks.
No injuries were reported related to the electrical arcing and riders were evacuated from the trains as a precaution, according to Piringer.
The second incident led to trains single-tracking between the Grosvenor and Medical Center stations, WMATA said in a social media post.
“Customers will experience delays in both directions,” WMATA said around 11 a.m. on social media. “Some trains will offload at Van Ness to minimize train traffic. Use Red Line to Shady Grove to continue trip.”
It was unclear whether the electrocution incident and the electrical arcing at the Medical Center station were connected and what caused both electrical issues.
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Updates on Red Line train service can be found at this link.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Originally published at Bethesdamagazine