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Inclined elevators are usually found on slopes in the great outdoors, where single cars ferry people up steep inclines on the sides of mountains and hillsides to areas that would otherwise be hard to access.
Now, the inclined elevator is being used to enhance accessibility inside a Tokyo train station for the very first time, making news when it opened to the public at Akasaka-mitsuke Station in July.
This is the first time for an inclined elevator to appear at a train station in Tokyo, so we swung by to see it in action, finding it on the third floor basement level next to a set of stairs. While there are a number of elevators next to stairwells like these at stations throughout the city, they’re all vertical, unlike this one, which clearly travels on a slope, following the same incline as the stairs.
We visited outside of the peak travel period, and there weren’t many other commuters about so we were the only ones inside the elevator when we used it to travel from the third to second basement level.
From inside, we could clearly see the lift sliding along the tracks as it moved, inclining like a cable car with a smooth and steady action.
▼ It was a short ride, taking around 30 seconds to reach the second basement level.
According to rail staff, before this elevator was installed, an Escal wheelchair stair lift had been operating on the side of the stairs. However, that lift wasn’t ideal as it took a long time to use, due to the fact that it had to be operated by a staff member.
The new lift is a lot faster to use, and helps a wider number of commuters as it accommodates not only wheelchair users but also elderly people and those with prams and strollers.
When installing an ordinary vertical elevator, a vertical cavity needs to be created, requiring a fair amount of money and construction work. However, inclined elevators like this one utilize an already existing space, so no major excavation work is necessary.
It’s a win-win solution, not just for railway operators and rail staff, but most importantly for commuters, as they now all have equal access to the stairs at the station.
It’s nice to see an inclined elevator being put to good use inside a train station in the capital for the first time, and Tokyo Metro says it will consider installing more of these elevators at other stations in future.
It’s yet another great example of Japan’s attention to “people friendly movement” in public spaces, which includes mirrors in elevators and special red-and-yellow markings on train station stairways.
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- [Why do elevators have mirrors in them? Japan Elevator Association has the answer](Why do elevators have mirrors in them? Japan Elevator Association has the answer)
-- Why do Japanese stairs have red-and-yellow marks on them?
-- 1,200 Japanese workers convert above-ground train to subway line in a matter of hours
© SoraNews24
17 Comments
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Antiquesaving
Isn't this just an indoor Funicular?
Paul
Very helpful for people who have problem walking up/down stairs
Sven Asai
Yes, technically so ‘cool’, but now of course the barking someone wished for. Show me it all again during rush hours; one congestion because the space for stairs have been halved, the other two because long waiting queues at both fronts of that slow ‘thing’ additionally hinders all the many people who want to use the now halved stairs. lol
pepelepew
Inclined elevators have been around for ages all over the world.
Why is this even news?
Moderator: Because it is the first one in Tokyo.
Jim
@pepelepew…Exactly! Well it’s SoraNews 24 article and they are well known for reporting crap that they feel is innovative in Japan but in reality it’s old news globally!
In this instance, many countries have these inclined elevators including some developing / under developed island nations like Fiji where technology is far behind Japan! I saw it on my last vacation to Fiji. Also Tokyo isn’t the best location for these as it lacks space due to the high number of people and small land area!
Pukey2
Can you please stop ruining Japan's uniqueness.
Harry_Gatto
No, it's not a funicular. A funicular has two cars partly counterbalancing each other on the same cable, one going up and one going down.
The Original Wing
Generally, the elevator system in the Tokyo subways is very poor. I never realized it until someone came to visit me who had walking problems. A lot of big, sprawling subway stations only have a single elevator up to the surface, and it was often very far from where we were trying to go. Sometimes none existed at all, or else you had to navigate "some" (read: too many) stairs to get to the elevator in the first place. Lots of tall staircases. It was really difficult. My guest really struggled.
Whether this inclined elevator is a technological marvel or not is beside the fact - it's a good thing to see more effort and attention being put in this area. The elderly population of Tokyo needs more help in this regard.
gokai_wo_maneku
So just to be sure, passengers are not standing at an inclined angle, right?
fxgai
Seems kind of like an escalator.
Harry_Gatto
Of course not. That would be like the steps on an escalator not being horizontal.
No, an escalator is a moving stairway. This is an elevator car with a horizontal floor which moves on angled tracks instead of being hauled up and down by cables. Its overall movement is both horizontal and vertical, in two axes, X and Y.
Peeping_Tom
"Seems kind of like an escalator."
"an escalator"????
William Bjornson
Japan just can't do anything 'right', huh? Again the question, if nothing that Japan does is 'as good' or 'is weird' or whatever the adjectives that spring to the 'minds' of GUESTS in Japan to make Japan seem less attractive, go home to the 'perfection' which MUST be there if so much in Nihon grates on one. Or, alternatively, review the movie "American Psycho", dissect out the basic personality characteristics portrayed there, review one's own personality for similar traits (but maybe not as pronounced), and judge oneself as others may judge one. Or just GO HOME to that 'perfection'.
And this is not to deny that there may be practical considerations with this design that conflict with other practical considerations but nowhere here are THOUGHTFUL SOLUTIONS offered rather than unnecessary thoughtless criticisms of both the design and the people of Japan. And one need not be a Nihonophile to see shallow personalities...
Peeping_Tom
"And one need not be a Nihonophile to see shallow personalities..."
Exactly.
They will call you a Japan "lover" when all you do is show these "shallow personalities" what they really are.
nandakandamanda
People with a ton of heavy luggage might be inclined to use this instead of the stairs.