Comments on: Dud escalators at North Melbourne Station

By: Photos from ten years ago: July 2014 - Waking up in Geelong

Photos from ten years ago: July 2014 - Waking up in Geelong — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 21:32:34 +0000

[…] The escalators at North Melbourne station where entering a steep decline into unreliability. […]

By: Metro Trains Melbourne managing overcrowded platforms - Waking up in Geelong

Metro Trains Melbourne managing overcrowded platforms - Waking up in Geelong — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 21:32:26 +0000

[…] least the number of escalator failures seems to have dropped since their 2015 […]

By: Escalator of fail at Southern Cross Station - Waking up in Geelong

Escalator of fail at Southern Cross Station - Waking up in Geelong — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 20:48:10 +0000

[…] Melbourne Station also has a reputation for failing escalators – my theory being that undersized units were originally installed, leading to premature […]

By: Belt and braces - why Melbourne stations have lifts and ramps - Waking up in Geelong

Mon, 04 Dec 2017 20:33:10 +0000

[…] prophetic statement, given the issues encountered with the open air escalators at North Melbourne station since […]

By: Photos from ten years ago: May 2007 - Waking up in Geelong

Photos from ten years ago: May 2007 - Waking up in Geelong — Mon, 22 May 2017 21:34:44 +0000

[…] on the new station was completed in 2009. The years that followed have seen a plague of escalator breakdowns, as well as the bypassing of the station by most V/Line […]

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 03:19:47 +0000

In reply to wxtre.

The VRIOGS standards also specify the pumps that need to be specified in pedestrian subways – yet they still floor in heavy rain!

http://wongm.com/2013/06/metro-trains-and-flooded-pedestrian-subways/

By: wxtre

wxtre — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 15:44:11 +0000

In the VRIOGS ‘Railway Station Design Standard and Guidelines’ it says escalators shall meet the following design and engineering considerations:

a) Heavy duty construction;
b) Weather proof if installation may be affected by the elements;

I wonder whether these escalators are in compliance with these requirements.

Escalators should not be the sole means of access to stations as they
are non DDA compliant. Ramps should be built in combination with escalators in case of break down. Ramps are the preferred design for platform transfer. The old Edwardian Stations are an example.

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:20:07 +0000

In reply to James A.

As for using escalators as bi-directional stairs, it wouldn’t work for the ‘narrow’ escalators – at 800mm wide two people cannot pass:

http://www.thyssenkruppelevator.com/webapps/classroom-on-demand/Lessons/EscStepWidth.jpg

The reason why walking on a stopped escalator feels so weird is in part psychological:

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/why-broken-escalators-throw-off-our-balance/281731/

But it is also due to the size of escalator treads – they are a different size to normal stairs:

http://www.quora.com/Why-do-stopped-escalators-feel-so-much-more-difficult-to-walk-up-than-stairs-leading-from-to-the-same-places

As for OH&S issues, sharp edged escalator treads look a lot more painful to fall onto than even hard concrete stairs.

By: Marcus Wong

Marcus Wong — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:12:16 +0000

In reply to James A.

Laverton’s dodgy lifts have been covered before – over 100 breakdowns in 10 months!

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/train-passengers-let-down-by-lifts-at-93m-station-20110907-1jxqt.html

Not to mention they are too small to fit standard ambulance stretchers into:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/state-election-2010/rail-lifts-revamp-to-take-stretchers-20101124-187ew.html

By: James A

James A — Sat, 14 Feb 2015 13:28:06 +0000

And I thought the lifts at Laverton were bad! (Your next story? Haha)

If one escalator is broken and there is no stairs, couldn’t they simply turn the operational one off so that it can temporarily act as bidirectional stairs? Or is that some kind of OH&S hazard?