Wheaton escalators back in service

8:55 p.m. Update: Metro currently lists the three escalators at Wheaton as operational.

Original post: Metro is running shuttles from the Wheaton station to its neighbors because three of the four longest escalators in the Western Hemisphere are out of service, possibly for the next several days.

The station is open, but both escalators normally descending to the platform are out of order, as well as one of the two that normally carry passengers up the lengthy incline.

It is jokingly said that escalators don't break, just turn into stairs, but Wheaton is one of the deepest in the Metro system, with escalators nearly as long as the Washington Monument is tall, so many customers will find the shuttles--to Forest Glen, the only station so deep it has only elevators, or Glenmont--handy or even necessary.

The escalator outage page on Metro's Web site shows that the three of the four escalators aren't scheduled to be repaired until Monday.

Curious about the longest escalators in the world? This Web site has a compilation, including our region's own member of the escalator hall of fame.