"Sometimes when you stop them, they never start up again."

illustration via @learntofly3

From Michael:

This morning at Dupont, of the three main escalators on the north entrance/exit, only one was operational.

The operational one was carrying customers down from Q Street/20th.

The other two escalators were inoperable AND blocked off from foot traffic, so the only way out of the DuPont Station was via an elevator (30 minute wait) or the south exit, several blocks away and totally jammed.

Additionally, the station manager was repeatedly announcing the escalators were "not turned on" which implied you could walk up them, when in fact, this was not an option.

I was told by station manager that one up escalator was under scheduled maintenance, but the other broke down.

She also said they were afraid to stop the down one to allow it to serve as staircase, because "sometimes when you stop them, they never start up again."

She also said, "we wouldn't want to have another incident where the stair collapses."

Broken escalator=stairs, in many situations. At Metro, it apparently means possible deathtrap.