Escalator: Model Sizes and Other Specifications

ESCALATOR
An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors
of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or
down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.
Escalators are used around the world to move pedestrian traffic in places where elevators would be

impractical. Principal areas of usage include department stores, shopping malls, airports, transit
systems, convention centers, hotels, and public buildings.
The benefits of escalators are many. They have the capacity to move large numbers of people, and
they can be placed in the same physical space as one might install a staircase. They have no waiting
interval (except during very heavy traffic), they can be used to guide people toward main exits or
special exhibits, and they may be weatherproofed for outdoor use.
In 2004, it was estimated that the United States had 30,000 escalators, and that people used
escalators 90 billion times each year.[1
Model sizes and other specifications
Escalator step widths and energy usage
Width (between Energy

Size Single-step capacity Applications
balustrade panels) consumption
Very One passenger, with feet A rare historic design found mostly
400 mm (16 in) 3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
small together in older department stores
Low-volume sites, uppermost

Small 600 mm (24 in) One passenger levels of department stores, when 3.7 kW (5.0 hp)
space is limited
One passenger + one

Shopping malls, department stores, 7.5 kW (10.1
Medium 800 mm (31 in) package or one piece of
smaller airports hp)
luggage
Mainstay of metro systems, larger

Two passengers – one 7.5 kW (10.1
Large 1,000 mm (39 in) airports, train stations, some retail
may walk past another hp)
usage
Design and layout considerations
A number of factors affect escalator design, including physical requirements, location, traffic patterns,
safety considerations, and aesthetic preferences. Foremost, physical factors like the vertical and
horizontal distance to be spanned must be considered. These factors will determine the pitch of the
escalator and its actual length. The ability of the building infrastructure to support the heavy
components is also a critical physical concern. Location is important because escalators should be
situated where they can be easily seen by the general public. In department stores, customers should
be able to view the merchandise easily. Furthermore, up and down escalator traffic should be
physically separated and should not lead into confined spaces.
Traffic patterns must also be anticipated in escalator design. In some buildings, the objective is simply
to move people from one floor to another, but in others there may be a more specific requirement,
such as funneling visitors towards a main exit or exhibit. The number of passengers is important
because escalators are designed to carry a certain maximum number of people. For example, a
single-width escalator traveling at about 1.5 feet (0.46 m) per second can move an estimated 170
persons per five minute period. The carrying capacity of an escalator system must match the
expected peak traffic demand, presuming that passengers ride single file. This is crucial for
applications in which there are sudden increases in the number of riders. For example, escalators at
stations must be designed to cater for the peak traffic flow discharged from a train, without causing
excessive bunching at the escalator entrance.
In this regard, escalators help in controlling traffic flow of people. For example, an escalator to an exit
effectively discourages most people from using it as an entrance, and may reduce security concerns.
Similarly, escalators often are used as the exit of airport security checkpoints. Such an egress point
would generally be staffed to prevent its use as an entrance, as well.
It is preferred that staircases be located adjacent to the escalator if the escalator is the primary means
of transport between floors. It may also be necessary to provide an elevator lift adjacent to an
escalator for wheelchairs and disabled persons. Finally, consideration should be given to the
aesthetics of the escalator. The architects and designers can choose from a wide range of styles and
colors for the handrails and balustrades.
Key safety features developed over time
Notice on escalators in Spain.
To enhance passenger safety, newer models of escalators are

equipped with one or more of the following safety implementations, as
per ASME A17.1 code:
 Antislide devices: Raised circular objects that often stud the

escalator balustrade. Sometimes informally called "hockey pucks"
due to their appearance, their purpose is to prevent objects (and
people) from precipitously sliding down the otherwise smooth
metallic surface.
 Combplate impact switches: Stop the escalator if a foreign
object gets caught between the steps and the combplate on either
end.
 Deflector brush: A long continuous brush made of stiff bristles
running up the sides of the escalator just above the step level. This
helps deflect garments, shoes, and other items away from the gap
between the moving steps and the skirt board.
 Emergency stop button: At each end of the escalator (in some
models, also on the balustrade), a large red button can be pressed
to stop the device in the event of an emergency. Typically, an
alarmed transparent plastic guardplate covers the button; restarting
requires turning a key.
 Extended balustrades: Allows riders to grasp the handrail before
setting foot on an escalator, to ease customer comfort and
stability/equilibrium. (The effect is similar to the flat steps described
below.)
 Flat steps: Like a moving walkway, the first two or three steps at
either end of the escalator are flat. This gives the passenger extra
time to orient him/herself when boarding, and more time to
maintain balance when exiting. Longer escalators often have four
or more flat steps.
 Handrail inlet switches: . Sensors located at the bottom and top
of the unit that guard the handrail termini. If something gets caught
in these locations, a hard fault is generated in the controller, and
the escalator shuts down automatically.
 Handrail speed sensors: These sensors are usually optical, and
monitor how fast the handrail moves. If the sensor notices a speed
difference between the handrail and the steps, it sounds an alarm,
pauses, and then automatically stops the escalator. In these
situations, the escalator must be serviced by authorized personnel
before returning to an operable state.
 Missing step detectors: Depending on the manufacturer and
model, this sensor is either optical or physical. When a missing
step is detected, the escalator automatically shuts down.
 Raised step edges: In some models, a difference in tread height
is utilized to keep passengers' feet from the skirt board.
 Safety instructions: A sign, typically posted on both escalator
newels at the entrance landing platform. In some situations, safety
precautions are posted on walls near the escalator, included on
freestanding signs, or—as in some models—printed on the riser
surface itself.
 Sensor switch: In automatic-start/stop escalators, this sensor
automatically engages the escalator motion when a rider is
detected on the first step of the entrance landing platform, and
stops the escalator when there are no riders on the unit.
 Step demarcation lights: Either fluorescent or LED lights
(traditionally green in color) located inside the truss. The
illumination between the steps improves the passengers'
awareness of the step divisions.
 Step demarcation lines: In order to clearly delineate the edges of
each individual step, manufacturers offer steps trimmed in yellow,
either painted or with plastic inserts.
[edit]Safe riding: official safety foundation guidelines
While some escalator accidents are caused by a mechanical failure,

most can be avoided by following some simple safety precautions.
The Elevator Escalator Safety Foundation is a major advocate for safe
riding in the United States and Canada, sponsors National Elevator
Escalator Safety Week each year, and publishes its own suggestions
for safe riding. [20]
Accidents
There have been reports of people falling off a moving escalator or getting their shoe stuck in part of
the escalator; shoe laces are a hazard when loose. Some accidents are caused by improper or
unsafe use such as riding the hand rails (see bullet points below) or by escalator spinning. A few fatal
accidents are:
 Eight people died and 30 more were injured on Wednesday, February 17, 1982, when an
escalator collapsed on the Moscow Metro. Wrongly set up service brakes were later blamed for
the accident.[7]
 31 people died after a fire, begun in the undercarriage of an MH-type Otis escalator, exploded
into the ticketing hall at King's Cross St. Pancras station in 1987.
 On Monday, December 13, 1999, 8-year-old Jyotsna Jethani was killed at New Delhi's
international airport. Jethani fell into a gaping hole that resulted from improper maintenance.[8]
 On Saturday, June 15, 2002, Andrea Albright, a 24-year-old J.C. Penney employee
in Columbia, Maryland, was critically injured while riding the store's escalator from the first to the
second level. She somehow got her head caught between the escalator rail and a low ceiling. In
2005, her parents sued the property manager, two design firms, and the escalator company for $5
million.[9]
 On New Years Eve, 2004, escalators at the Taipei City Hall Station kept moving commuters
onto the overcrowded island platform. A woman whose hair got caught in the escalator received
20 stitches to the scalp.[10]
 Francisco Portillo, a Salvadoran sushi chef, died after being strangled when his sweatshirt got
caught in an escalator at the Porter Square MBTA station inCambridge, Massachusetts on
February 21, 2005. He was allegedly drunk at the time.[11]
 On Saturday, September 13, 2008, an 11-year old boy died after falling off an escalator in
Lyngdal, Norway.[12] On Monday, April 20, 2009, a teenage boy died after getting very serious
skull injuries after falling off an escalator in Falun, Sweden.[13] On Friday, June 26, 2009, a man
died after falling off an escalator in Helsingborg, Sweden.[14] All three were riding the handrail.
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ESCALATOR

Escalators are used around the world to move pedestrian traffic in places where elevators would be

Model sizes and other specifications

Escalator step widths and energy usage

Width (between Energy

Low-volume sites, uppermost

One passenger + one

Mainstay of metro systems, larger

Notice on escalators in Spain.

To enhance passenger safety, newer models of escalators are

 Antislide devices: Raised circular objects that often stud the

While some escalator accidents are caused by a mechanical failure,

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