Vertical Transportation eXcellence

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.

VTX’s Patrick Welch (left) accepts the 2006 Project of the Year Award from Mike Depallo (center), APTA vice chair and general manager of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, and APTA President William W. Millar (right).

(Harrisburg, Pa.) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) escalator modernization project received the first ever Transit Elevator and Escalator Project of the Year Award from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

APTA’s Project of the Year Award recognizes outstanding partnerships between transit systems and elevator and escalator suppliers to improve vertical transportation for transit riders. WMATA shared the honor with Vertical Transportation Excellence (VTX), a division of Gannett Fleming, Inc., and Schindler Elevator Company.

"VTX is extremely pleased to be awarded APTA's first Escalator Project of the Year Award for our part in one of the world's largest escalator modernization projects,” stated Patrick Welch, president of VTX. "It is our hope that the valuable lessons learned from this groundbreaking project will benefit other escalators owners in North America."

Prior to the modernization effort, most of WMATA’s escalators had been in service for more than 30 years. The agency struggled to perform the critical maintenance required to keep its Metro-rail station escalators running. The organization set out to improve the reliability of its escalators, in addition to improving safety and reducing the number of scheduled breakdowns.

WMATA created a blue ribbon panel of experts, including VTX and a team of technicians, managers, and customer-service representatives, to evaluate labor, personnel, maintenance, its capital plan, and customer service issues. The panel recommended contracting a private company to help service the escalator system and invest in upgraded equipment.

With the assistance of the Schindler Elevator Company, WMATA is approximately two-thirds of the way through this major rehabilitation project, which calls for overhauling 70 percent of the system’s escalators by 2010. The organization has already reported dramatic improvements in escalator reliability as a result of these efforts.