WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement today after Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) General Manager Paul Wiedefeld announced a temporary shutdown of the Metrorail system beginning at midnight in order to conduct emergency inspections of the system’s third-rail power cables:

“It’s sad that it’s come to this, but hundreds of thousands of people depend on the safety of the Metro system. We need to take it seriously. I’m glad that Metro’s new leadership is treating system safety with an appropriate sense of urgency.”