Rebuilt platform escalator opens at Powell St. Station
It’s onward and upward for BART’s major escalator rebuilding project as one of the five escalators from the platform to the concourse at Powell Street Station is now in service. The platform escalator joins the street level escalator as the vanguard for a new generation of escalators.
The new escalators incorporate the latest technology with multiple improvements:
- Safety enhancements that comply with the latest code requirements.
- New LED skirt lighting.
- Materials used in fabrication are lighter in weight yet equally or more robust than heritage escalators.
- Environmentally friendly – The escalators are constructed of sustainable materials and utilize an automatic lubrication system that applies lubrication only when and where it is needed.
The Powell St. platform escalator opened for service on September 27th while the street level escalator opened August 31st.
The next escalator due to open is a street level escalator at Civic Center, expected to open in October.
Many of the escalators being replaced are among the oldest in the system. The Market Street Escalator Project will replace 22 units that extend from the street to the concourse level and 18 that connect concourses with platforms. Additionally, a street-level escalator at Civic Center Station will be installed at the entrance closest to the Orpheum Theater where right now there are only stairs.
The parallel canopy project is bringing as many as 22 new entrances to downtown San Francisco stations that include new entrance gates, screens with real-time transit information, and multiple security cameras.