D.C. fire trucks outside Gallery Place (Photo: Jeff Sonderman)

UPDATE, 10:56 a.m.: Metro says both stations have been reopened.

UPDATE, 10:45 a.m.: Metro says Gallery Place has reopened. TBD's Jeff Sonderman, who's on the scene, tells us officials there have said the smoke has cleared and that Metro Center will reopen in minutes.

UPDATE, 10:28 a.m.: From a Metro press release:

The Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Metro Center Metrorail stations are temporarily closed while emergency personnel respond to a report of smoke on the Red Line between the stations.

Currently, there is no Red Line train service between the Gallery Pl-Chinatown and Metro Center Metrorail stations. Red Line trains are terminating at Farragut North and Judiciary Square Metrorail stations.

Metro is in the process of setting up shuttle bus service to help move passengers around the incident. However, customers should keep in mind that buses can only carry about 50 passengers, while a six-car train can carry hundreds of riders, so customers should expect long waits for the buses.

Yellow and Green Line trains are continuing to pass through Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail station, and customers are being permitted to exit the station.

Blue and Orange Line trains are continuing to pass through Metro Center Metrorail stations, and customers are being permitted to exit the station.

Officials have not yet determined the cause of the smoke. The stations were closed at about 10 a.m.

 

ORIGINAL:

Twitter is bursting with reports of Metro Center and Gallery Place being evacuated due to smoke in a vent shaft along the Red Line at Gallery Place. Metro is running shuttles for the Red Line around the two stations.

Our TBD colleague Jeff Sonderman sent us the above photo of trains being emptied at Metro Center.