Metro workers examining the escalator in Chinatown. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Metro's escalators have made news recently for machine failures and undisclosed maintenance problems, and have always been a source of lesser complaints. TBD is asking for your help to note the condition of escalators in every station. E-mail descriptions, photos or videos of escalators in your stations to mynews@tbd.com, or tweet with the #wmata hashtag, and we'll add it to the map and liveblog below.

7:17 p.m. update: Metro riders reported more escalator complaints during the evening commute:

@DC_Stories: "Down escalator at Dupont Circle North entrance just ground to a halt with passengers on it. Noone hurt."

@bootska: "DC Metro: The price goes up. The escalators don't."

Escalators weren't the only evening complaints. Riders complained about leaks, faregates, scanners, ventilation, late trains and even flatulent passengers (not Metro's fault, it should be noted).

TBD's cell phone batteries need recharging. We'll be out again tomorrow checking the operation of more escalators. Send us your reports at mynews@tbd.com or tweet with the #wmata hashtag. We'll get this map finished.

5:14 update: Thanks to the hard work of TBD staff and many contributions from users, we mapped and described the escalator conditions at 53 Metro stations so far today. Please keep sending in reports as you head home this evening, and we'll also be picking this up again Wednesday to fill in the missing ones.

This afternoon TBD's Lisa Rowan, who as you read below traveled the entire Red Line today to inspect every escalator, talked on the MoJo show about the project. You can watch here:

4:27 update: We're picking up the rest of Virginia's Blue and Orange lines with few problems. While Franconia-Springfield has two of its five escalators completely closed for repair, most of the other stations are in good shape. Arlington stations especially seem to have their escalators in order. See the map for the details.

2:14 p.m. update: More Red Line exploration from Lisa Rowan.

Fort Totten: 4 of 6 escalators are running. One is shut down and blocked going down to the Green/Yellow platform. The other side at that point is stopped for two-way travel.

Takoma: All three escalators are working, as is the elevator. A clean sweep!

Escalator out of service at Silver Spring Metro station. (Photo: Lisa Rowan)

Silver Spring: Has two escalators running, one blocked, as pictured.

1:50 p.m. update: Lisa Rowan checks in from some more Red Line stations.

New York Avenue: Three good platform escalators, one blocked off -- presumably for repair. The newer station does not mean a faster escalator -- 42 second ride for a fairly short distance. Good elevators here though.

Rhode Island Avenue: One escalator closed off. Two up escalators working.

CUA: Four escalators, one up and one down to the platform and two going up to street level. In good shape here.

1:41 p.m. update: Sweeping through Arlington on the Blue/Yellow lines TBD's Nathasha Lim reports from Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon.

Escalator at Arlington Cemetery station. (Photo: Nathasha Lim)

Four escalators at Arlington Cemetery. 3 working just fine. One escalator on the side leading to the platform heading to DC is off. No signs of mid-construction. Just off.

At the Pentagon: The escalator heading down towards Huntington/Franconia-Springfield is out. The opposite escalator heading down towards Largo/Fort Totten is working. Heading up toward street level, 5 out of 6 escalators are working. The one that is broken is the one on the left side, in the middle.

12:46 p.m. update: Lisa Rowan checks in with reports from Gallery Place and Judiciary square.

Gallery Place: At 9th and G Street there are three running platform escalators out of four. At street level you have one running in each direction.

On the Shady Grove side of the Red Line going down to the Green Line, there is one escalator blocked off with a crew in place. There are also two stopped but walkable. At 7th and H Street exit there are two going up to the street and one coming down. Same deal at 7th and F.

On the Glenmont side of Red Line there are 2 stopped/walkable escalators out of 7 total on that side inside the station.

At Judiciary Square: All four platform escalators are working on the courthouse side. One up and one down to street. On the National Building Museum side, two good escalators on the Glenmont platform. One stopped on Shady Grove side and one shut down with crew in place. Quite a setup with lights and workstations.

Fun fact: When taking the escalator down to the Glenmont platform on the NBM side, look for the spider that someone painted onto one of the escalator steps.

12:08 p.m. update: According to Justin Weinsheimer (@falldog), we need to correct much of this liveblog: "An escalator can never break: it can only become stairs. ... Escalator Temporarily Stairs. Sorry for the convenience." TBD's Jenny Rogers quickly spotted this tweet, which Weinsheimer had in quotes, as a Mitch Hedberg joke.

11:56 a.m. update: Lisa Rowan has a full report from Metro Center.

First, the escalators between the Red platform and the Blue/Orange platform: From the Glenmont side there is one up and one down working, and one closed. On the Shady Grove side, one up and one down working, the other stopped but walkable.

Escalator being rebuilt at Metro Center, on the Glenmont platform going down to Orange/Blue lines. (Photo: Lisa Rowan)

Heading out to the 11th Street exit, all four platform escalators work, and at the street level one up and one down is working, but the one in the middle is closed for repair.

On the 13th Street exit, all four platform escalators work, and at street level all are working but are noisy.

The Macy's exit at street level has one up, the middle one is closed, and the one on the right is stopped but walkable.

11:34 a.m. update: Madeline Marshall (@Maddie_Marshall) tweets: "Capitol South- they've been working on that escalator for months. 2 months ago one gave out while I was riding. Very strange feeling."

11:28 a.m. update: TBD's Lisa Rowan has filed Red Line reports from Shady Grove to DuPont Circle. Check details of particular stations on the map. Her report from the north side of DuPont:

"When I got up to the long escalators there was a mess of newspaper at the bottom of the stopped on on the right. The middle one was running up. On the left side the escalator was running down but was blocked. But as I rode up (2 minutes, 20 seconds) I watched 2 WMATA employees move the barriers and reopen the escalator. REJOICE AND SING MY PEOPLE. I watched some progress take place." (Lisa filed by iPhone, so that all-caps rejoicing took lots of tapping.)

Not so much rejoicing at Van Ness-UDC, where Lisa found four of eight escalators disabled.

11:19 a.m. update: We have details by email from Emily Rindone, who tweeted about the Eastern Market escalator screeching to a halt with her and some other people aboard:

"It wasn't as dramatic as it might sound - the escalator did stop suddenly, but there were maybe 5 people on it, and we all managed to grab the handrail (I'm not sure if anyone besides me exclaimed 'holy shit')... I noticed as I walked down the escalator that there was an employee with a crowbar near the bottom of the escalator, and he just kind of slowly moseyed back to the kiosk near the fare gates. My guess is that they were turning the escalator off on purpose, rather than it being a malfunction, but it would've been nice if they waited until there was no one on it, or prevented people from getting on at the top."

TBD called Metro seeking an explanation. We forwarded Rindone's account and will post any response as soon as we receive it.

Rindone was on her way to work at Save the Children. We've asked for an escalator report at Farragut West, where she reports all three escalators she used were working.

10:17 a.m. update: TBD's Mandy Jenkins reports that all the Navy Yard escalators are working.

10:14 a.m. update: Scott Fisher (@rscottfisher) reports on Twitter: "Ballston escalator report: 4 of 6 operating, the two have been broken for at least two weeks."

10:12 a.m. update: Bob Summersgill (@summersgill) reports on Twitter: "All 6 escalators @ Cleveland Park were working today. I haven't seen that in weeks."

9:54 a.m. update: TBD's Lisa Rowan, riding the Red Line end-to-end, reports minor issues at Friendship Heights and Tenleytown. One crew is working on a stopped escalator at Friendship Heights, and one of the three street escalators is stopped at Tenleytown.

9:45 a.m. update: We have not yet heard a commuting report today as bad as the dream reported on Twitter by @amyca: "Had a dream last night I was on #WMATA & it somehow got lost & went to Florida b4 turning around. Kinda worried about my commute tomorrow..." If you have a commute that bad, please call TBD. We'd like to interview you.

9:42 a.m. update: Brian Gruner (@brewner) elaborates on his earlier report on Twitter: "sorry for not saying which med center one was down. down escalator. other two are functioning... one up/one down."

9:39 a.m. update: Sarah Heffern (@smheffern) reports on Twitter: "All 3 street escalators at Dupont South are working - 2 up, one down. Can't even remember the last time this happened."

Platform escalator being rebuilt at Virginia Square
(Photo: Jeff Sonderman)

9:35 a.m. update: TBD's Jeff Sonderman reports that the escalators that work at Virginia Square work well, but one of the platform escalators has been out of service for major reconstruction for months. Over the summer it was one on the Vienna-bound side, now it is one on the inbound side. This of course forces passengers to walk and share the other platform escalator on that side.

9:34 a.m. update: Joan Arkham (@JoanArkam) asks the difficult question on Twitter: "So are #wmata escalators rising up in revolution against their human taskmasters, or are people just noticing and reporting it more?" Do we see a film story in the making for TBD's Ryan Kearney: Now filming in Washington: "The Escalator Uprising"?

9:30 a.m. update: TBD's Lisa Rowan reports from Medical Center that four of five escalators are working. The platforms to the turnstiles are working. One of three long escalators to street level is stationary but walkable. One is moving in each direction, taking 2:32. Lisa also reports that the station is cluttered with newspapers.

9:26 a.m. update: @That_Just_In reports on Twitter: "both union station escalators were working this morning." Union Staton actually has nine escalators, and @elyseindc tweeted earlier that Metro was working on one. TBD will be checking all nine when Lisa Rowan gets there later today (working her way in from Shady Grove right now). When you send reports, please be as specific as possible (up, down, to street or platform, etc.). Thanks for all the reports, and keep them coming.

9:10 a.m. update: TBD's Lisa Rowan reports 5 of 6 escalators working at Bethesda: "The two platform escalators still work. Quick 22 seconds on the way up. 2:30 to get up the long one. First station of morning with music, my favorite dirge, 'How Great Thou Art.'" The middle of the three long escalators is stationary but walkable. One long escalator is working in each direction. One of them squeaked intermittently. Elevators also are working, as is a street-level escalator.

9:06 a.m. update: Meredith Wise (@MeredithWise) reports on Twitter: "At the Macy's entrance of Metro Center, one from lower to upper platform and one from there to the street are broken."

9:00 a.m. update: Chris Barnes (@chrisatyoursix) reports on Twitter: "Ballston: both platforms- all working."

8:54 a.m. update: If you were on the Eastern Market escalator when it stopped, give TBD a call at 703-842-1707, email at sbuttry@tbd.com, tweet @stevebuttry or comment below. We would love to talk to you. After @rindonesia tweeted that the down escalator stopped as she was on it, Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) responded: "My worst fears are now escalator related."

8:49 a.m. update: Tim Mikulski reports on Twitter: "Happy to see that all escalators I saw were actually working at McPherson. not sure of the side coming from Metro Center end though."

8:39 a.m. update: @rindonesia reports on Twitter: "Down escalator at Eastern Market came to a screeching halt while I was on it...and then I saw a #wmata employee slinking away."

8:32 a.m. update: TBD's Lisa Rowan reports both White Flint escalators and the elevator working, with a 28.4 sec for up ride from platform to turnstiles. Both Grosvenor escalators and the elevator also working. The ride there is 25 seconds either way. "Hooray for consistency."

8:29 a.m. update: TBD's Lisa Rowan reports from Twinbrook: "Only one escalator. Goes up to platform. Works but sounds like a tea kettle. 35-second ride. Has ped ramp from street into station along with steps. Pretty good idea. All elevators work. Solid A for access."

8:20 a.m. update: @elyseindc reports on Twitter: "the escalator onto the platform at union station is being repaired." And she adds some encouragement for TBD's escalator report: "P.s. You guys are doing a great thing!" TBD thanks Elyse for the report and the kind words.

8:16 a.m. update: Another non-escalator problem reported by Ryan Travers (@ryanjtravers) on Twitter: "Broken down train isn't moving at Columbia Heights. Stuck waiting for it to move/new one to come."

8:12 a.m. update: @aka_tk tweets (apparently in anticipation of an escalator that's been down a while: "I can't wait to walk down the escalators at pentagon #wmata #escalatorstemporarilystairs"

8:08 a.m. update: TBD's Lisa Rowan made it to Shady Grove, where she reports two of three escalators working. Crews were working on the escalator down to the platform. At Rockville, both escalators were working.

8:06 a.m. update: @scottobear reports on Twitter: "you've got your work cut out for you - 4 dead escalators between street and red line to glenmont @ Metro Center Metro Station."

8:00 a.m. update: @BrianKal reports on Twitter: "ballston has first entrance - one roped one. then to mezzaine one is not on at all. #wmata #escaltorfail"

7:56 a.m. update: Jeff Chittim (@jchittim) reports on Twitter: "The Huntington lower entrance 'down' escalator closed for service."

7:51 a.m. update: Alejandra Owens (@frijolita) reports on Twitter: "dupont metro, q st entrance, l to r, down but open to walk on, working, down and blocked off."

7:48 a.m. update: Andrew Roszak (@andrewroszak) reports on Twitter that the Red Line is moving now: "Finally moving again towards Shady Grove - at AU Tenleytown now - slow go thanks to #RedLineFire."

7:42 a.m. update: We decided last night to have TBD's Lisa Rowan ride the Red Line today, reporting on escalators all along the line. She was going to head to Shady Grove to start her report. As you can see from the previous update (below), Lisa's reporting might be delayed somewhat by a fire (no information from Metro yet on the fire).

Here's Lisa's report from Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan: "All escalators and elevators in working order so this station gets a thumbs up for accessibility and a thumbs up for cleanliness too. 2:23 is your riding time on the long escalator."

7:37 a.m. update: Of course, escalators aren't the only problem on the Metro system. Megan Sullivan (@elbowglitter) just tweeted about a fire on the Red Line. "'Customers, we have a train in front of us experiencing a small fire.' Whaaaaaat???" "So, apparently, train on fire on the red line in the direction of Shady Grove. Expect delays everywhere. It's #wmata."

7:32 a.m. update: "The up escalator at Shady Grove out of commission - shocker!" reports Amy Loudermilk (@amyloudermilk) on Twitter.

7:29 a.m. update: "Total of 3/5 escalators out at Foggy Bottom. Wmata had no problem collecting the fares from the fare card machines however!" reports @zoom268 on Twitter.

7:05 a.m. update: Here are the official Metro reports of escalator and elevator outages. We want to hear your reports. Don't tell us just whether they are working or not. If one is moving but sounds like it's on its last legs, please let us know (record it with your phone on audio or video, if you can). If you overhear funny or interesting comments about the escalators, send them along.

6:58 a.m. update: "North entrance at shaw/Howard: up escalator working, down not working," @ehaglund (Erid Haglund) reports on Twitter. 

6:52 a.m. update: Here's video of the broken West Falls Church escalator at about 5:30 this morning:

6:32 a.m. update: "Both escalators are down at Van Ness/UDC!" @UncleQuillis reports on Twitter.

"One dead escalator at medical center," reports @brewner. Can anyone tell us which one?

6:24 a.m.: Five of six escalators at West Falls Church were working a little after 5:30 a.m., TBD's Steve Buttry reports. The "down" escalator to catch buses was not moving. At Rosslyn at about 6 a.m., all eight escalators were working, but one of the long escalators between the platforms and the street was groaning like the Redskins' defense.

The number of escalators at each Metro station. (Photo by Flickr user tracktwentynine)