MARTA has reopened an escalator at Vine City Station that malfunctioned following a Beyoncé concert at the Vine City Station, injuring several passengers.
MARTA said in a press release that it had completed an investigation and determined that the escalator became overloaded when a concertgoer screamed after seeing a bug, causing a crowd to rush onto the escalator. The incident occurred just after midnight on July 15 when throngs of concertgoers were leaving Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
A state inspection the following morning confirmed in a report that “due to the high volume of passengers,” the escalator oversped before coming to a stop, MARTA said in the press release.
At the time of the investigation, motor belts were all present, but some had been dislodged from their pulleys. Maintenance records and subsequent interviews confirmed that the escalator had previously been inspected during regular monthly maintenance less than a week before the incident and was found to be fully compliant, MARTA said.
The investigation concluded that the sudden passenger load caused the escalator to speed up, the belts to separate from their mechanisms, and the emergency brakes to engage.
Once the investigation was concluded, MARTA said escalator service provider Schindler replaced all impacted equipment components, conducted a comprehensive multi-point systems inspection, and undertook rigorous safety checks. The state inspector has completed a final safety check and cleared the escalator to return to service, according to the release.
MARTA said it will step up staffing and crowd control for future large events to include:
- Crowd metering measures will be enhanced at high ridership stations, including dedicated staff, barricades, and high visibility signs reminding customers to board escalators one at a time.
- Rail station support staff and police officers will continue to be deployed to high ridership locations.
- MARTA Load and Go teams will continue to be positioned on rail station platforms to assist with train loading and unloading and to prevent platform overcrowding.
- MARTA’s Office of Vertical Transportation (elevators and escalators) and Schindler employees will continue to staff rail stations and MARTA’s Emergency Operations Center to respond when needed.
- MARTA Police will continue to contract with Emergency Medical Services support staff and deploy them to key rail stations to provide immediate medical attention when needed.
“MARTA, Schindler, and the state routinely inspect all escalators, and perform maintenance, repairs, and cleanings on a regular schedule,” MARTA Chief Safety & Quality Assurance Officer Ralph McKinney said in a statement. “These units are safe to use, and we ask customers to follow staff and sign instructions and board them single file.”
MARTA is nearing the end of a multi-year systemwide elevator and escalator rehabilitation program that includes the refurbishment or replacement of every escalator in the system, a total of 150 units at 38 rail stations.
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