Metro News Release
For immediate release: April 20, 2006
Metro to rehabilitate 200 more escalators
Metro will rehabilitate approximately 200 interior platform escalators and continue to use contractors for preventative maintenance on elevator and escalator units throughout the system to further improve availability and service reliability.
Metro’s Board of Directors approved spending $50 million ever the next six years to rehabilitate 206 escalators and $43 million over the next four years to extend elevator/escalator maintenance contracts.
The rehabilitation work on the 206 interior escalators is necessary to maintain escalator availability and reliability, and stem deterioration of these units.
In 2000, Metro began a 10-year comprehensive maintenance and rehabilitation plan for its 588 escalators. To date, 181 escalator units have been modernized, and 38 more are currently under contract. An escalator modernization takes three or four months to compete as it is a complete overhaul that involves stripping the unit down bare steel and building it back up.
Since the start of the program, overall escalator reliability has improved from 89 percent to 93 percent. On average day, 547 of Metro’s 588 escalators are in service.
Metro’s Board also approved spending $43 million over the next four years to extend the use of contractors for preventive maintenance on elevator and escalator units throughout the system. Currently, contractors are responsible for the maintenance of 276 escalators and 84 elevators, and Metro elevator/escalator personnel are responsible for 301 escalators and 149 elevators. By 2010, Metro intends to rely solely on Metro personnel for elevator/escalator maintenance.
News release issued on April 20, 2006.