Broken VT In Downtown Seattle Transit Stations An Issue

A dozen escalators and one elevator in the four downtown stations of the Seattle transit tunnel remained broken as of the first week of July, Mass Transit reports. When 2021 began, 28 of the 58 escalators and elevators, all more than 30 years old, were inoperable at the stations when King County Metro handed over maintenance duties to Sound Transit. Sound Transit has hired a new contractor and budgeted US$8.7 million to nurse the old equipment along through 2023. Nearly all escalators will receive new step chains this year, and the first new escalators will arrive next year. The agency will replace every escalator over five to seven years, the biggest cost in its US$96-million tunnel-renovation budget. Replacement parts for the elevator should arrive this summer. But the source reports that full access to the train platforms will become essential by Oct. 2, when new Northgate, Roosevelt and University District stations attract opening-day riders, followed by Husky football and Kraken hockey fans. The University of Washington’s fall semester and South Lake Union tech firms also will bring commuters back. When full demand returns, which could take years, the three new stations are projected to boost pre-COVID ridership of 80,000 daily trips to 125,000. Sound Transit has set a goal of 70% performance by the end of 2021.