Metro plans to hire an outside contractor to help maintain and fix dozens of escalators at Orange Line stations in Virginia.

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The Washington Post reports officials will brief the transit agency’s board of directors on the plan this Thursday.

The company will service 54 escalators and 20 elevators on the Orange Line from Rosslyn to Vienna, the Post reports.

Metro General Manager Richard Sarles says the move will speed up repairs, since the transit agency only has 200 people employed in their escalator repairs department. 

Metro says 75 percent of their 500 escalators are more than 25 years old, and of those,100 are currently under repair, according to the agency's Website.

Sarles says they plan to hire a contractor by early next year, but an estimate of how much it will cost has not been released.