New passenger lifts are among the many enhancements passengers will be able to enjoy following the long-awaited reopening of Whitechapel Station in east London.

Prior to its closure in 2016, the station had already been served by the District and Hammersmith & City Tube lines and also by London Overground. However, with Crossrail set to be added to these services, the station was closed for a much-needed overhaul.

Before the revamp the station was blighted by a lack of lifts and limited space inside. Now, the amount of space has doubled and new lifts will offer step-free access to all the platforms.

This aspect of the development was emphasised by managing director of London Underground Andy Lord as the revamped station opened its doors.

He said: “With step-free access to the London Underground and London Overground platforms now available, there are real benefits for customers, particularly those heading to The Royal London Hospital directly across the road.”

In addition, the station has a new ticket hall and concourse, while the 1876 façade has been cleaned up and made good as new.

The only negatives about the project stem from the main pretext for the redevelopment work -Crossrail itself. Although the new Elizabeth Line platforms at the station are being formally handed over to London Underground this week, passengers will still have to wait until next year to board any Crossrail trains.

Another issue has been the £831 million cost of building the Whitechapel Crossrail station, dwarfing the originally estimated £110 million figure due to a series of construction difficulties.

Nonetheless, the new lifts will be widely welcomed and the provision of step-free access of this type will be a feature of all the stations on the Crossrail network, both on the surface and underground.

In total, 11 of the 41 stations, including three at Heathrow, will be underground.

Lifts are one of the safest ways to travel in the world, and credit for one of the biggest reasons for that must be given to one man; Elisha Otis.

Mr Otis invented the “safety elevator” in 1852, which took the concept of the lift and made it far less dangerous. The story of its invention is fascinating, and plans and drawings for the first modern lift can be found in this article by TIME magazine.

However, the most famous story about Otis is what happened in 1853, when he tried to sell the revolutionary invention.

The 1853 World’s Fair

From July 1853 to November 1854, the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations ran at New York Crystal Palace, with over a million people visiting over the course of over a year.

There were many interesting exhibits there as well, including a wooden observatory and the world’s first pedal quadracycle in history.

However, Otis would become legendary during this exhibit when showcasing the lift system on a platform. Whilst he made his speech, he asked an axeman to chop the only rope holding the platform he was standing on up.

He obliged, and to the shock of the crowd Otis fell, but only a few inches. Otis’ safety elevator had a safety lock in place that stopped the lift from falling down the lift shaft.

This revolution essentially changed the US skyline; with more people willing to ride lifts, buildings could be built higher, to the point that not even 30 years later the first skyscrapers being seen in major American cities.

For help with passenger lifts, get in touch with KEP Lifts today.

With the impacts of the global pandemic starting to be seen around the world and all sorts of working practices having to evolve and adapt in order to facilitate a ‘new normal’ modus operandi, the question must now be asked… what will the elevators of the future look like?

Social distancing guidelines in the UK are such that a two-metre distance between people must be maintained, which means that lift use is sure to be affected. But buildings aren’t likely to be made any smaller, so elevators will still very much be in existence, but usage is likely to be staggered and fewer numbers will be able to use these facilities at any one time.

In terms of design, we’re likely to see smarter systems rolled out so that building managers can stagger usage more effectively, as well as the likes of disinfection systems, kick buttons and touch-free technology.

Building design will also need to factor in the long-term requirements of lifts, as it will be difficult to make certain changes later down the line. It could well be that central staircases are included in buildings, while elevator capacity could be determined based on population, capacity and waiting periods.

For now, however, building managers and passengers need to prioritise hygiene and cleanliness, so more regular cleaning may be required to reassure passengers, while installing hand-sanitising stations could be advisable.

Putting up posters reminding people about hand-washing regimes and the spread of infection could also prove useful in this regard.

For help with passenger lifts, get in touch with KEP Lifts today.