Jan 22 2016
The elevator business of thyssenkrupp has kicked off the new year by announcing a major new contract. Munich's public utility company Stadtwerke München GmbH (SWM) has selected thyssenkrupp to replace 102 escalators in the local transport network of the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) starting this year.
Overall the order is worth an eight-figure euro amount. The installation of escalators will be completed over a period of four years. Overall, the SVM will replace 125 escalators until 2019.
"We're proud that our excellent products and consistent customer focus have attracted such a selective client," says Dr. Oliver Tietze, head of the elevator business in Europe and Africa: "The contract also makes this a record month for our elevator and escalator business in Germany."
In SWM, thyssenkrupp has won a renowned customer. The company, together with MVG, is one of Germany's biggest transport operators, and with over 770 escalators operates one of the densest escalator networks in the world. All in all, the Munich Metro transports nearly 400 million people each year. With this latest contract, Munich is setting new global standards in terms of urban mobility technology and organization. More than a year was spent on the selection process from the request for bids to costing and contract negotiations.
The order is also large in terms of scope. In addition to installing the new escalators and handing them over to the customer, thyssenkrupp will also be responsible for dismantling and disposing of the old installations and supporting the TÜV inspection process.
Innovations for megatrends
Many major cities find themselves weighed down by an increasingly overloaded infrastructure coupled with a growing population. Shifting transport in the city from road to rail is a central challenge. thyssenkrupp supports cities around the world with innovative solutions meeting the requirements of urbanization. “We want to jointly address the challenges of urbanization with our customers. It is essential to find new solutions for inner-city transport which save time and reduce consumption of energy and environmental resources” Tietze says.
For example, by enhancing access to existing metro stations, the ACCEL transportation system has the potential to draw commuters who previously shunned public transport because they are not within easy reach of a station. Applying linear motor technology from the Transrapid magnetic train, ACCEL can transport as many passengers as typical fully automated cabin systems, move up to 7,300 passengers per hour per direction. By creating new access points, ACCEL is capable of increasing the catchment area of each station and therefore the number of passengers by up to 30 percent. With ACCEL, the capacity utilization of metro systems throughout the world can be maximized, offering an alternative to the cost-intensive construction of new stations or interconnecting underground passageways. Another advantage: The number of vehicles on the road would also drop.