Escalators? Nope. Plan to hoof it on Jan. 20

WASHINGTON -- Plan on taking Metrorail to the inaugural ceremonies on Jan. 20? Be ready to hit the stairs.

The transit agency says it expects to shut down and lock numerous escalators at high volume stations on the day of the inauguration. That means riders may have to walk up or down some of Metro's notoriously long escalators as they enter and exit stations.

"If there are a huge amount of people entering the station at one time, it is not unusual for the escalators to be turned off, and this is for (people's) own safety," says Metro spokesperson Candace Smith.

Metro has intentionally "locked" escalators for past events like the 4th of July and sporting events.

"Imagine, you've got loads of people piling into a station and they'll back up on the escalators, and there's a crowded platform, and people can fall onto the tracks," says Smith. "It's really the issue of going down and flowing into the system."

Metrorail is preparing to carry upwards of 1 million riders on inauguration day, a mark that will easily shatter the all time record high of 854,638 riders set this past summer.

"You may have to find yourself trudging down the escalators, I mean be prepared for that," says Smith.

Metrorail also has elevators at rail stations that can carry riders. Those elevators are not expected to be turned off on inauguration day.

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