Two Elizabeth Line Stations Feature KONE Inclined Elevators
London’s new subway line partially opened earlier this year, offering commuters the chance to ride on glass elevators that travel at an incline (rather than vertically) alongside an escalator, Business Insider reports. In 2015, Transport for London (TfL) said it anticipated that incline elevators, manufactured by KONE, would be up to 50% more efficient compared to an ordinary vertical elevator. The four inclined elevators share some similarities with a cable car, but are based on vertical elevators, a KONE spokesperson told the source. The elevators travel at a 30-degree angle along guide rails and are pulled along by a cable and counterweight. The elevator cars have doors on both sides and can carry 17 people. The inclined elevators are located at Farringdon and Liverpool Street stations, which have platforms below existing buildings meaning it was difficult to install vertical shafts. TfL has designed all central London Elizabeth line stations to have step-free accessibility. The Elizabeth line will increase central London’s rail capacity by as much as 10% when it’s fully operational, according to TfL.
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