Making the Tenleytown Escalator Problem Worse

Via @TheTalmidian @unsuckdcmetro @wmata Officially ZERO working escalators at Tenleytown. #wmata http://t.co/CUBAamF

Winston, a "15-year Red Line rider," was disgusted by the situation this morning at Tenleytown where two of the three extremely long escalators were out of service, and the remaining one was a "walker" (stairs) for both entering and exiting riders. He adds that the two out of service escalators have been that way for over six weeks.

It must have been 90 degrees in the escalator tunnel, and several older passengers had to stop to rest on the way up, clogging the escalator and creating unsafe jams of people stuck behind while others were descending past them.

I asked the station manager why they couldn't open one of the downed escalators so people could at least rest on the way up, and he said "see that [escalator] tech over there, it's up to him."

I did not talk to the tech because he was working somewhere inside the escalator, and I was so disgusted with the station manager's response that I needed to walk away.

Naturally, at the platform level there were no signs or warnings to passengers that all three long escalators were out of service. The elevator for this station is only accessible from the platform and riders cannot even see the long escalators until they pass through the ticket gates.

It is pathetic that Metro has ignored the two very long malfunctioning escalators for over six weeks.

At least one of these has been rebuilt in the last five years.

It is even more pathetic that the station manager made no effort to inform riders that the escalators were out of service and completely exculpated himself from any responsibility for rider convenience or safety.

Thanks Metro, for another great commute.