By Ian Simpson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal safety officials on Wednesday ordered immediate repairs to Washington's troubled subway system, the second-busiest in the United States, after a series of fires since late April.
The subway system, which serves the U.S. capital and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs, is preparing for extensive maintenance that will cause partial shutdowns in a bid to improve safety and reliability.
FTA inspectors have identified three sites where urgent repairs are needed to reduce smoke and fire risk, Carol Flowers, the agency's acting administrator, said in a letter to Paul Wiedefeld, general manager of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
"I am therefore directing WMATA to take immediate action to give first priority to these repairs," she said. The subway, also known as Metro, has been under FTA safety oversight since October.
Flowers said the FTA had investigated 15 safety breaches from April 23 through Tuesday, including nine with smoke and/or fire.
Metro carries about 700,000 passengers daily, including hundreds of thousands of federal workers. Metro had no immediate response to the letter.
Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said on Tuesday he considered ordering Metro shut down last week. He warned he could use that authority if necessary.
The FTA ordered Metro on Saturday to tighten safety standards because of a Thursday fire. Metro carried out an unprecedented daylong shutdown in March for safety checks.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Peter Cooney)