ThyssenKrupp Elevator has bagged an order to supply 63 escalators and 13 elevators for the project to extend the North-South Stadtbahn (light rail) system in Cologne in Germany.
The extension, which will add around four kms of track and eight stations, is currently the biggest urban construction project in Germany. The new section will run underground, and only the provisional terminus at Marktstrasse will be above ground. Passenger service is scheduled to start in 2011.
The 76 passenger transportation systems from ThyssenKrupp Elevator in the seven underground stations will start operation when the line is inaugurated.
Thirteen elevators with rises from 8.86 to 22.45 meters will allow comfortable access for wheelchair users, baby carriages or people with heavy bags. The systems have mostly been fitted with glass balustrades and energy-saving LED lighting.
The Severinstrasse station posed a particular engineering problem: the nearby buildings and the intersection with the East-West Stadtbahn line will mean that the tracks and platforms will be at a depth of roughly 20 meters. Four elevators and seven escalators will be installed in this station – including the longest escalator in the entire project with a total length of 39.10 meters and a rise of 18.80 meters.
ThyssenKrupp Elevator is one of the leading elevator companies in the world and represented at over 800 locations in more than 60 countries.
