London Banter - View Single Post - canning town jubilee line replacement program

Chris Hansen · September 1st 07, 09:52 AM posted to uk.transport.london

On Fri, 31 Aug 2007 12:26:01 -0700, wrote:

On 31 Aug, 14:14, Boltar wrote:
An escalator is probably one
of the simplest machines around , its a glorified conveyer belt.

Have you ever been inside one to have a close look at the 'works'?

How
it can take 3 months to refurbish one never mind an entire year to
replace one (I suspect it took less time to build the entire station
than that!) is frankly mind boggling. It takes less time to turn
around the space shuttle from landing to launch!

There are a lot of parts there to be removed, inspected, overhauled or
replaced, re-assembled, tested and re-commisioned. It's a safety
critical system, imagine the consequences of passengers near the top
of a crowded escalator being thrown down it by a sudden jolt. Then
there's the fact there are often several escalators in one shaft, and
it may not be possible to work on one while an adjacent one is in
motion for safety reasons, restricting on-site work to a few hours
each night. Three months work sounds like pretty good going to me.

I seem to remember a case (might be here, but also might be in the US) where
one stair on an escalator dropped into the shaft while the escalator was
running. Unfortunately, someone was standing on it at the time.

I am all for escalator refurbishment, maintenance, or replacement as
necessary. The escalator replacement at Embankment Station has been
inconveniencing me for about 6 months now, but seeing as I use the station
every weekday, I'm happy to walk down the corridor rather than wait for a
stair to drop out of the escalator I'm using.
--
Chris Hansen | chrishansenhome at btinternet dot com

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