iwalk – The Newest Moving Walk by ThyssenKrupp ... - Elevator World

Technology
iwalk – The Newest Moving Walk
by ThyssenKrupp Elevator
by Carmen Maldacena, EW Correspondent
The São Paulo Metro is the stage where the iwalk,
an innovative moving walk, was recently launched by
ThyssenKrupp Elevadores of Brazil. This new means of
transportation was conceived and built in Spain as a solution
to facilitate the assembly, transportation and installation
of conventional moving walks. It is a green model
that follows a sustainable concept and adds passenger
comfort. Six iwalk units were installed to link two São
Paulo metro stations, ultimately improving the travel of
thousands of subway users in the congested metropolis.
Within the framework of the city’s metro expansion,
ThyssenKrupp Elevator added the iwalk to its escalators
and elevators to contribute to the swift movement of passengers
(ELEVATOR WORLD, August 2008). Your reporter
got a firsthand experience riding the iwalks during a recent
visit to the new stations, which also feature glass gates on
the platform edges: a shiny transparent tunnel that protects
riders during the arrival of driverless trains.
Technological/Green Solution
The iwalk is a global novelty that offers solutions for
heavy-duty transportation systems. It features techno -
logical developments and bears a green “i” in its name to
indicate its sustainable principles.
The new equipment was installed in the metro to link
two stations – Consolação in Green Line 2 and Paulista in
Yellow Line 4.
There are six heavy-duty moving walks located at the
end of the platform at the Consolação station. They run
along a 120-m tunnel to reach the top of the escalators
that will take the passengers in both directions to the
recently opened Paulista station. The original moving walk
is equipped with new improvements. The combplate
height has been significantly reduced to 7 mm (compared
Continued
Full view of the six iwalks
Passengers
commuting in the
São Paulo Metro
iwalk
May 2011 | ELEVATOR WORLD | 55

iwalk – The Newest Moving Walk by ThyssenKrupp Elevator Continued
to the 40 mm of standard models). This provides an easier
walk on its surface and a safer passage between the fixed
and mobile sections of the equipment for passengers
pulling wheeled items over the combs. The iwalk claims
to be the only moving walk that offers this characteristic
on the international market.
The iwalk was designed to be environmentally friendly.
Its driving system minimizes lubrication by oil drops (the
pallets do not need lubrication) and reduces the number
of components, as well as the power consumption of the
machine. The moving walk remains in standby position
when not in use. With ThyssenKrupp Energy Control intelligent
technology, the speed increases gradually only when
the rider treads on the iwalk. This system is also used in
conventional moving walks supplied by the company.
Easy Installation/Flexible Transportation
Another convenient characteristic of the iwalk is the
system’s division into modules, which makes manufacture
and installation easier and more flexible. The reduced
number of components includes transportation advantages
and facilitates assembly at the jobsite. As a compact
product, it can be transported in containers sparing some
of the room usually needed to store regular moving-walk
components at building sites. With this new concept, it is
possible to install moving walks where they were once
unfeasible. Moreover, the fewer components used, the
faster the assembly. The practice of complete assembly in
the factory has been replaced by a serial production of the
central sections that are assembled to the entrance and
exit platforms at the jobsite.
The iwalk does not require a special structure, since it
can be installed on existing floors. This is possible because
it is self-contained in its own guide rails where the palettes
run, avoiding costly guide-rail adjustments that are necessary
in traditional installations. This moving walk requires
only a 380-mm-deep pit, whereas the conventional models
need an approximately 1.15-m-deep pit.
Attractive Design/Added Comfort
The design of the iwalk had to be in accordance with
the simple, yet elegant architectural trends of today. With
Central safety walkway
A side view of ThyssenKrupp’s new moving walks
iwalk balustrades in detail
Riding at full speed on the iwalks
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this aim, the balustrades and handrails follow curving
lines with no edges, complemented with the use of glass
panels rendering a slim, transparent and light structure.
The installation of a moving walk to connect two stations
intends to provide the subway users with a faster and
more comfortable passage through the tunnel. At a
speed of 0.65 mps, it takes 3 minutes to reach the opposite
end.
The combplate design facilitates improved accessibility
for those using wheelchairs or similar wheeled items.
Traveling in the São Paulo Metro Network
In 2008, your reporter discussed the overall figures
regarding the extension and modernization program by the
Companhia do Metropolitano de São Paulo that involved
an estimated investment of BRL21 billion (US$12.3 billion).
During this visit, ThyssenKrupp Elevadores and the metro
company’s representatives accompanied your reporter on
a ride from the new Faria-Lima to Paulista metro stations,
both located in Yellow Line 4. This is among the first lines
in Latin America to feature glass partitions to separate
the platforms from the rails in all the stations. The gates
open with those of the trains, avoiding accidents and
other operating complications. The illumination system
is efficient with electronic reactors, high-performance
reflectors and fluorescent lamps.
The Faria-Lima station is equipped with four stainlesssteel
ThyssenKrupp machine-room-less (MRL) elevators
for accessibility and 10 escalators. Your reporter observed
how the metro employees were trained on the use of the
elevators so that they could instruct passengers with special
needs. The recently opened station uses new driverless
trains manufactured by Hyundai in South Korea.
Their automatic operation is safer, and the speed is always
kept within the permitted ranges according to need. The
trains are not divided into separate wagons; they are a long,
articulated corridor so that passengers can circulate freely
between the sections. Passengers have a full view of the
whole train and can see it traveling into the tunnels.
Once the group and your reporter arrived at Paulista
station, we went up the escalators, then directly onto the
iwalks that took us along the passageway to flow into
Consolação station. In Paulista station, in addition to
the six connecting iwalks, there are six panoramic elevators
and 18 escalators (also supplied and installed by
ThyssenKrupp Elevadores).
ViaQuatro is responsible for the operation and maintenance
of Line 4. This private/public partnership will invest
more than US$2 billion in the line. When it is finished, it
will cover 12.8 km with 11 stations.
Acknowledgments: Journalist Isabel Munhoz Silvares
and photographer Dario de Freitas.
Faria-Lima metro station with safety glass partitions on the platform edge
ThyssenKrupp’s MRL elevator
Model Synergy operated
by a gearless machine
located inside the shaft.
The Paulista Station machine
has a capacity of 600 kg
and speed of 1 mps.
Boarding platform at Paulista station: detail of the platform and train gates coordinated
for boarding
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