Metro News Release

For immediate release: November 30, 2011

Metro marks escalator milestones at Union Station and Foggy Bottom

Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles today marked the completion of escalator rehabilitation work at Union Station and escalator replacement work at Foggy Bottom. The new and refurbished escalators at two of Metrorail’s busiest stations are a major milestone in Metro’s efforts to improve escalator reliability.

Over the past year, Metro has replaced the three entrance escalators at Foggy Bottom with new units and refurbished seven escalators at Union Station as part of its ambitious $5 billion, six-year capital program to rebuild the 35-year old Metro system. These 10 new and like-new escalators represent significant progress in the plan to overhaul or replace 153 escalators at 25 stations on all five rail lines.

For the first time in nearly a year, customers at Foggy Bottom now have three functioning escalators to get them in and out of the station. The brand-new escalators are the first replacement escalators in the Metro system in 15 years.

Union Station is the first Red Line station under the current capital plan to have all seven of its planned escalator units rehabilitated.

“We thank our customers for their patience as we worked on the escalators at Union Station and Foggy Bottom for upward of a year. We know it was a lengthy process, but we hope customers can now enjoy the benefits of easier travel through these stations and improved escalator reliability for years to come,” Sarles said.

“I applaud the Authority’s efforts to rehabilitate and replace the escalators at these key stations in the District,” said Metro Board Member and District of Columbia Councilmember Muriel Bowser. “As part of a much-needed capital improvement plan, these projects demonstrate progress toward ensuring a more safe and reliable customer experience. WMATA deserves credit for acting quickly and making every effort to minimize the inconvenience to riders.”

Metro spent $2.2 million to modernize seven escalators at Metro’s busiest rail station. The work at Union Station began in July 2010 and concluded last week, followed by safety inspections. As part of the project, workers completely rebuilt seven escalator units by removing, refurbishing or replacing all escalator parts including escalator steps, handrails, safety devices and electrical systems. Metro anticipates that the refurbished, “like-new” escalators will last another 15 to 20 years.

At Foggy Bottom, workers replaced all three entrance escalator units that had become unreliable and unsustainable. The old escalators were removed and replaced one at a time with state-of-the-art models beginning in late January. The first new escalator went into service in July, followed by the second unit in September. The third new escalator began normal service this morning. Each new escalator rises 32 feet 6 inches from the mezzanine level to the street level and has 127 steps. New escalators have an estimated life expectancy of 20 to 30 years. The $5.9 million project includes a staircase, which will be installed early next year. To protect the escalators, Metro will build a canopy over the entrance in early 2012.

The program to improve escalator reliability continues in 2012 and most notably includes a plan to replace the three escalators at the south entrance of Dupont Circle.

View videos of Foggy Bottom Escalator Replacement

News release issued at 11:56 am, November 30, 2011.