Escalator Develops Mind of Its Own and Reverses Direction
Commuting is hard enough, but when a train station escalator suddenly decides to throw its riders off by reversing direction, that's when it's time to find an alternative to mass transit.
Six people were injured yesterday morning when a PATH escalator at the Exchange Place station in Jersey City, New Jersey, malfunctioned and started going down rather than up.
Amateur video shows more than a dozen commuters struggling to contend with the wayward escalator as several shout at it to stop. Although the video doesn't show anyone being injured, one person was treated at the scene and five more were transported to area hospitals.
According to the Port Authority, Superstorm Sandy, which caused significant damage to the station in October, may have played a part. "PATH officials are looking into the cause of today’s escalator incident at Exchange Place, including whether Superstorm Sandy-related effects played a role,” read a statement.
In the aftermath of the incident, two of the station's three escalators were shut down for inspection, forcing thousands of commuters to scale 128 stairs to the street. Hope everyone wore their walking shoes.