WASHINGTON – What’s the stink on Metro?

The fishy odor reported by a customer last week on the Orange Line is not coming from organic brake pads, as a Metro customer service representative first claimed in an e-mail to a rider published by Unsuck D.C. Metro.

Metrorail doesn’t use organic brake pads any more.

The transit agency now says the smells are the result of a variety of factors, and the current brake pads may be one of those smells, The Examiner reports.

Customers have complained about foul smells, similar to rotten eggs or dead mice, for years. In the past, Metro said organic brake pads were to blame.

However, when The Examiner questioned the transit agency last January, Metro said that sewer gas from floor drains in underground stations was actually the culprit. Of course, that doesn’t explain the smell at above-ground stations that don’t have floor drains.

Metro says it plans to send another email to the rider, correcting its previous statement. The agency says it will continue to monitor the situation.

Madeline Tallman contributed to this story. Follow WTOP on Twitter.

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