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Pictured is Patrick Welch of VTX, accepting the 2006 Project of the Year Award from APTA Vice Chair - Rail Transit Mike Depallo, General Manager of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, center, and APTA President William W. Millar, right.

(Toronto, Canada) The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) presented its first ever Transit Elevator and Escalator Project of the Year Awards. The 2007 APTA Rail Transit Conference witnessed the presentation of the awards which took place on June 5. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) escalator modernization project received the Escalator Project of the Year Award. Patrick Welch, President of Vertical Transportation Excellence (VTX), accepted the award on behalf of the escalator project. "VTX is extremely pleased to be awarded APTA's first escalator project of the year for our part in the world's largest escalator modernization ever. This would not have been possible without the professionalism and dedication of the WMATA and Schindler organizations working on this project."

WMATA had ongoing problems with their thirty year old escalators. The organization set out to improve the reliability of its escalators in addition to providing safety and fewer scheduled breakdowns. With 588 escalators they had a major project in front of them. On any given day they had approximately 61 units out of order and desperately needed help servicing those escalators.

WMATA decided to create a panel of experts to reduce the down time of their equipment while improving reliability and safety for its passengers. VTX joined a team of technicians, managers, and customer-service representatives who started creating what would become the largest escalator modernization project in the world. VTX and the panel of experts recommended contracting with a private escalator company to help update equipment and provide maintenance. WMATA chose Schindler Elevator Company. Schindler has been pivotal in the implementation of the recommendations given by VTX's experts.

WMATA, VTX, and Schindler have completed approximately two-thirds of this major project. Not only has WMATA seen dramatic improvements in escalator availability, but fewer escalators have unscheduled breakdowns, and even injuries have been reduced. Quantitative analysis shows marked improvements in these transportation systems. Patrick Welch said, "It is our hope that the valuable lessons learned in this groundbreaking project will be of value to other escalators owners in North America."