Metro Celebrates Completion of New Escalators at Tenleytown-AU Station, Reopening Early and On-Budget

Metro leaders celebrated the completion of the Tenleytown-AU Station Escalator Replacement Project and reopening of the east entrance with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Per WMATA: The replacement of seven of the nine escalators at the station wrapped up on-budget and more than two months ahead of schedule. “I want to congratulate our team for completing the escalators not just on-budget, but early so that our customers can experience the difference with these fantastic, new escalators up and running,” said GM/CEO Clarke. “We continue to work hard to make station improvements just like this to provide better service to our customers.”

The project began in August 2021, with construction on the intermediate level escalators which was particularly complicated. Additional equipment, time, and expertise were required to safely move heavy materials through multiple levels of the station. In August, the east station entrance closed, allowing construction crews to complete the work in less time by working on all the entrance escalators simultaneously.

The reopening marks another step toward Metro’s goal to replace 130 escalators by 2028 and improve service to customers in the District and throughout the National Capital Region. Since beginning the escalator replacement project, Metro’s escalators are now newer, and more reliable with nearly 95 percent of escalators available at any given time.

“It’s not simple, and getting that work done as quickly as possible is really a big task. We have seen a lot of improvement in this system already. It’s safer, the infrastructure investment is critical, and being done on-budget and on-time,” said Councilmember Frumin. “More and more people are riding on Metro. We need these escalators crammed with people going back and forth downtown.”

Over the past two years, since the project began, escalator failures have been reduced by nearly 30 percent systemwide. So far, 69 escalators have been replaced at 21 stations and eight replacements are underway at five others.

The Escalator Replacement Project aligns with the goals of Metro’s Strategic Transformation Plan, to provide service excellence with the work of our talented teams and regional partnerships that support sustainable transit.