View Single Post
  #16   Report Post  
Old August 31st 07, 07:26 PM posted to uk.transport.london
[email protected] furles@mail.croydon.ac.uk is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Dec 2004
Posts: 110
Default canning town jubilee line replacement program

On 31 Aug, 14:14, Boltar wrote:
An escalator is probably one
of the simplest machines around , its a glorified conveyer belt.


Have you ever been inside one to have a close look at the 'works'?

How
it can take 3 months to refurbish one never mind an entire year to
replace one (I suspect it took less time to build the entire station
than that!) is frankly mind boggling. It takes less time to turn
around the space shuttle from landing to launch!


There are a lot of parts there to be removed, inspected, overhauled or
replaced, re-assembled, tested and re-commisioned. It's a safety
critical system, imagine the consequences of passengers near the top
of a crowded escalator being thrown down it by a sudden jolt. Then
there's the fact there are often several escalators in one shaft, and
it may not be possible to work on one while an adjacent one is in
motion for safety reasons, restricting on-site work to a few hours
each night. Three months work sounds like pretty good going to me.