ThyssenKrupp Express Walkway

The ThyssenKrupp Express Walkway is a class of variable-speed moving walkway manufactured by ThyssenKrupp. It is the fastest moving walkway in the world.^[1]

Concept

Traditional moving walkways maintain a constant speed between each end. All of the acceleration of the passenger is done when they step on - this means the walkway must maintain a low speed or else the large acceleration will jolt passengers over or make it difficult to board altogether. The speed of the floor panels of the express walkway vary between each end allowing for a slower embark and disembark speed but a higher speed in between to decrease journey time. The speed of the walkway is the number of floor panels per second multiplied by the length of each panel, but because the number of floor panels moving past a certain point every second must remain constant for all points along the walkway, the only remaining variable is the panel length. The panels of the express walkway are able to partially slide underneath each other, allowing for relative distances between them to decrease. After the passenger steps on a particular tile at the start, the rest of the tile will slowly slide out from under the tile in front until the passenger reaches the maximum velocity; near the end, it will slide back under, slowing the passenger down before he gets to the other end.

Installations

The only ThyssenKrupp Express Walkway installations are located at Toronto Pearson International Airport and connects the international gates in Pier F of Terminal 1 with the rest of the terminal. Two walkways, one for departures and one for arrivals, were installed in 2007.^[2]

References

1. "Photo Of The Day: Flying Over Pearson". 2014-03-18.
2. Bryant, Chris (22 October 2014). "ThyssenKrupp aims to accelerate travelators beyond the pedestrian". The Financial Times. Retrieved 1 February 2016.