A moving walkway, moving sidewalk (in the US), moving pavement (elsewhere), walkalator, travelator, slidewalk or moveator is a slow conveyor belt that transports people horizontally or on an incline in a similar manner to an escalator. A belt conveyor consists of two or more Pulleys with a continuous loop of material - the conveyor belt - that rotates about them Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another An escalator is a Conveyor transport device for transporting people consisting of individual linked steps that move up or down on tracks which keep the treads ^[1] In both cases, passengers can walk or stand. Walking (also called ambulation) is the main form of Animal Locomotion on land, distinguished from Running and crawling The walkways are often supplied in pairs, one for each direction.

Contents 1 Designs 1.1 High-speed walkways 1.2 Inclined moving walkways 1.2.1 The device in operation 2 History 3 Applications 3.1 Airports 3.2 Museum exhibits 3.3 Zoos 3.4 Theme parks 3.5 Public transportation 4 Science fiction 5 Dangers 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Designs

Moving walkways are built in one of two basic styles:

• Pallet type — a continuous series of flat metal plates join together to form a walkway. Most have a metal surface, though some models have a rubber surface for extra traction.
• Moving belt — these are generally built with mesh metal belts or rubber walking surfaces over metal rollers. The walking surface may have a solid feel or a "bouncy" feel.

Both types of moving walkway have a grooved surface to mesh with combplates at the ends. Also, nearly all moving walkways are built with moving handrails similar to those on escalators.

High-speed walkways

In the late 1960s Dunlop developed the Speedaway system. Dunlop Rubber was a British company which manufactured tyres and other rubber products for most of the 20th century [1] A prototype was demonstrated at the 1970 Osaka Expo and later at the Battelle Institute in Geneva. The entrance to the system was like a very wide escalator, with broad metal tread plates of a parallelogram shape. After a short distance the tread plates were accelerated to one side, sliding past one another to form progressively into a narrower but faster moving track which travelled at almost a right-angle to the entry section. The passenger was accelerated through a parabolic path to a maximum design speed of 15 km/h (9 mph). The experience was unfamiliar to passengers, who needed to understand how to use the system to be able to do so safely. Developing a moving hand-rail for the system presented a problem. The Speedaway was intended to be used as a stand alone system over short distances or to form acceleration and deceleration units providing entry and exit means for a parallel conventional (but fast running) Starglide walkway which covered longer distances. The system was still in development in 1975 but never went into commercial production.

Another attempt at an accelerated walkway in the 1980s was the TRAX (Trottoir Roulant Accéléré), which was developed by Dassault and RATP and whose prototype was installed in the Paris Invalides metro station. Dassault Aviation is a French aircraft manufacturer of military, regional and business jets, a subsidiary of The Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens ( RATP/Autonomous Operator of Parisian Transports) is the major transit operator responsible for Public transportation Invalides is a station of the Paris Métro and RER, located near and named after Les Invalides. The speed at entry and exit was 3 km/h (2 mph), while the maximum speed was 15 km/h (9 mph). It was a technical failure due to its complexity, and was never commercially exploited.

In 2002, the first successful high-speed walkway was installed in the Montparnasse—Bienvenüe Métro station in Paris. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Montparnasse — Bienvenüe is a station of the Paris Métro which is a transfer point between Lines 4 6 12 and 13 Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city At first it operated at 12 km/h (7 mph) but due to people losing their balance, the speed was reduced to 9 km/h (6 mph). It has been estimated that commuters using a walkway such as this twice a day would save 11. 5 hours a year.

Using the high-speed walkway is like using any other moving walkway, except that for safety there are special procedures to follow when joining or leaving. When this walkway was introduced, staff (seen here in yellow jackets) determined who could and who could not use it. As riders must have at least one hand free to hold the handrail, those carrying bags, shopping, etc. , or who are infirm, must use the ordinary walkway nearby.

On entering, there is a 10-meter acceleration zone where the 'ground' is a series of metal rollers. Riders stand still with both feet on these rollers and use one hand to hold the handrail and let it pull them so that they glide over the rollers. The idea is to accelerate the riders so that they will be traveling fast enough to step onto the moving walkway belt. Riders who try to walk on these rollers are at significant risk of falling over.

Once on the walkway, riders can stand or walk. Owing to Newton's laws of motion, there is no special sensation of traveling at speed, except for headwind. Newton's laws of motion are three Physical laws which provide relationships between the Forces acting on a body and the motion of the A headwind is a Wind that blows against the direction of travel of an object

At the exit, the same technique is used to decelerate the riders. Users step on to a series of rollers which decelerate them slowly, rather than the abrupt halt which would otherwise take place.

In 2007, a similar high-speed walkway was opened in the newly opened Pier F of Pearson International Airport in Toronto, Canada. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Lester B Pearson International Airport is a major International airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated 27 kilometres (17 mi northwest Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page

Inclined moving walkways

An inclined moving walkway, also called a moving ramp or power ramp, is used in airports and supermarkets to move people to another floor with the convenience of an elevator (namely, that people can take along their suitcase trolley or shopping cart, or baby carriage) and the capacity of an escalator. Customer divider barjpg|thumb|In supermarkets sellers periodically change prices for classes of goods in response to market conditions rather than negotiating the price of each good An elevator or lift is a Transport device used to move people or goods vertically from one floor to another A shopping cart (also called a trolley in British, Australian English, and New Zealand English; sometimes referred to as a carriage

The device in operation

The carts have either a brake that is automatically applied when the cart handle is released, strong magnets in the wheels to stay adhered to the floor, or specially designed wheels that secure the cart within the grooves of the ramp, so that wheeled items travel alongside the riders and do not slip away. A brake is a device for slowing or stopping the motion of a Machine or Vehicle, or alternatively a device to restrain it from starting to move again This article deals with the physical structure For related terms see Canal inclined plane, Cable railway, Funicular, or Fixed-wing

The Central-Mid-levels escalator system on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong also has several inclined moving sidewalks. HK Mid-Level Escalatorsjpg|thumb|200px|The Central-Mid-Levels escalators the Elgin Street entrance]] The Central-Mid-levels escalators ( in Hong Kong is the longest outdoor Hong Kong Island ( is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong, China. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders In Carlton, Victoria, Australia, another inclined moving sidewalk can be found at Lygon Court. Carlton is an Inner city suburb to the immediate north of the central city area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Some department stores instead use Vermaports—conveying systems that move shopping carts in a similar fashion to an escalator—to transport passengers and their carts between store levels simultaneously. A department store is a Retail establishment which specializes in selling a wide range of products without a single predominant merchandise line. The Vermaport Cart Conveying System is the trademarked name of conveyor systems built by Darrott ( Germany) that are designed to transport Shopping carts An escalator is a Conveyor transport device for transporting people consisting of individual linked steps that move up or down on tracks which keep the treads

Inclined moving walkways can also be found at The National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. The National Aquarium in Baltimore is a public Aquarium located at 501 E Pratt St

History

The first moving walkway debuted at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, in Chicago, Illinois. The World's Columbian Exposition (also called The Chicago World's Fair) a World's Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. It had two different divisions: one where passengers were seated, and one where riders could stand or walk. It ran in a loop down the length of a lakefront pier to a casino. ^[2] Six years later a moving walkway was also presented to the public at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city The Exposition Universelle of 1900 was a World's fair held in Paris, France, to celebrate the achievements of the past century and to accelerate The walkway consisted of three elevated platforms, the first was stationary, the second moved at a moderate speed, and the third at about six miles an hour. These demonstrations likely served as inspiration for some of H. G. Wells' settings mentioned in the "Science Fiction" section below.

The first commercial moving walkway in the United States was installed in 1954 in Jersey City, NJ, inside the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad's Erie station) . Pavonia/Newport is a PATH station located on Town Square Place (formerly Pavonia Avenue at the corner of Washington Boulevard in Newport, Jersey City New Jersey Named the "Speedwalk" and built by Goodyear, it was 277 ft (84. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. 5 m) long and moved up a 10 percent grade at a speed of 1. 5 mph (2. 4 km/h). ^[3] The walkway was removed a few years later when traffic patterns at the station changed.

The first moving walkway in an airport was installed in 1958 at Love Field in Dallas, Texas. Dallas Love Field is a city-owned public-use Airport located five Nautical miles (9 km) northwest of the Central business district of

Applications

Moving walkways are frequently found in the following locations:

Airports

They are popular there because most larger airports require passengers – often with heavy luggage in tow – to walk considerable distances. Port Columbus International Airport, commonly shortened to Port Columbus, is an international Airport located 6 miles (10 Kilometers) east of Moving walkways may be utilized:

• in passageways between concourses and the terminal
• within particularly long concourses
• as a connector between terminals, or
• as access to a parking facility or a ground transport station.

Of particular note is the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris, which has several moving walkways inside a series of futuristic suspended tubes. Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (Aéroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle also known as Roissy Airport (or just Roissy in French in the Paris area is Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

Museum exhibits

Moving sidewalks may be used:

• to ensure that a museum exhibit is viewed in a certain sequence
• to provide a particular aesthetic effect
• to make sure the crowd moves through at a reliable pace. A museum is a "permanent institution in the service of society and of its development open to the public which acquires conserves researches communicates and exhibits the

The 1975-76 American Freedom Train did this; they had a moving walkway inside each successive railroad car, thus maximizing the number of people who could view the interior exhibits in the limited time the train was stopped in each town. The American Freedom Train was a special exhibit Train that toured the United States in the later half of the 1940s and again with different equipment for the

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC uses a moving walkway to connect the two main galleries. This article is about the National Gallery of the United States for other National Galleries see National Gallery. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D

The Crown Jewels in London, UK, uses a moving walkway when passing the cabinets which contain the crown jewels. The collective term Crown Jewels denotes the regalia and vestments worn by the sovereign of the United Kingdom during the Coronation ceremony and at various other London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located

Zoos

Similar to museums, some zoological park exhibits have a moving walkway to ease guests through an animal display or habitat. A zoological garden, shortened to zoo, is an institution in which living animals are exhibited in captivity An aquarium at the Mall of America does this with a moving walkway made up of specially rounded pallets that enable it to change directions en route. An aquarium (plural aquariums or aquaria) is a Vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which Water -dwelling Plants Mall of America (also MOA, MoA or the Megamall) is a super-regional shopping mall located in the Twin Cities suburb of Bloomington And the San Diego Zoo uses moving ramps not for an exhibit per se, but to help guests ascend steep grades. The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California is one of the largest most progressive Zoos in the world with over 4000 animals

Theme parks

Some amusement park rides, such as continuous-motion dark rides like Disney's Haunted Mansion, make use of a moving sidewalk to assist passengers in boarding and disembarking rides and attractions. Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group A dark ride or darkride is an indoor Amusement ride where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially-lit scenes that typically contain Animation Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is the segment of The Walt Disney Company that conceives builds and manages the company's theme parks and holiday resorts as well as a variety This article relates to the theme-park attraction For the film of the same name see The Haunted Mansion (film. Some examples include:

• the Ultra Twister, a roller coaster at the now closed Astroworld in Houston, Texas. The roller coaster is a popular Amusement ride developed for Amusement parks and modern Theme parks LaMarcus Adna Thompson patented the first AstroWorld was a seasonally operated Theme park located on approximately 57 acres of land (later expanded to over 75 acres between Kirby Drive and Fannin Avenue directly south (It had a moving walkway with no handrail for passengers to step on prior to boarding their car. The walkway would move at the same speed as the approaching cars, allowing passengers completing the ride to step off and for boarding passengers to enter the car. A loudspeaker announced "Moving conveyor, please watch your step" to warn of the moving walkway. )
• the exit from the Space Mountain ride at Walt Disney World has a long moving walkway which changes pitch multiple times. Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom opened on January 15, 1975. Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited and largest recreational resort in the world containing four Theme parks two Water parks twenty-three themed hotels

Public transportation

Moving walkways are useful for remote platforms in underground subway/metro stations, or assisting with lengthier connections between lines, for example Waterloo Underground Station in London.

Science fiction

The concept of a megalopolis based on high-speed walkways is common in science fiction. A megalopolis (or megapolis) is defined as an extensive Metropolitan area or a long chain of roughly continuous metropolitan areas The first works set in such a location are A Story of the Days To Come (1897) and When The Sleeper Wakes (1899) (also republished as The Sleeper Awakes) written by H. G. Wells, which take place in a future London. "A Story of the Days To Come" is a Novella by H G Wells comprising five chapters that was first published in the June to October 1897 issues of The Sleeper Awakes (1910 is a Dystopian Novel by H G Wells about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years waking up in a completely The Sleeper Awakes (1910 is a Dystopian Novel by H G Wells about a man who sleeps for two hundred and three years waking up in a completely Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political Thirty years later, the silent film Metropolis (1927) depicted several scenes showing moving sidewalks and escalators between skyscrapers at high levels. Metropolis is a silent Science fiction film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Lang and Thea von Harbou. Later The Roads Must Roll (1940), written by Robert A. Heinlein, depicts the risk of a transportation strike in a society based on similar-speed sidewalks. " The Roads Must Roll " is a 1940 Science fiction Short story by Robert A Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7 1907 – May 8 1988 was an American Novelist and Science fiction Writer. The novel is part of the Future History saga, and takes place in 1976. This article focuses on future histories in general For Robert A Isaac Asimov, in the novel The Caves of Steel (1954) and its sequels in the Robot Series, uses similar enormous underground cities with a similar sidewalk system. Isaac Asimov (c January 2 1920 &ndash April 6 1992 ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as, was a Russian The Caves of Steel is a novel by Isaac Asimov. It is essentially a detective story, and illustrates an idea Asimov advocated that Science fiction Isaac Asimov's Robot Series is a series of books by Isaac Asimov, both collections of Short stories and Novels Short stories The period described is about the year 3000.

In each of these cases there is a massive network of parallel moving belts, the inner ones faster. Passengers are screened from wind, and there are chairs and even shops on the belt. In the Heinlein work the fast lane runs at 180 km/h, and the first "mechanical road" was built in 1960 between Cincinnati and Cleveland. The relative speed of two adjacent belts is an unrealistic 20 km/h (in the book the fast lane stops, and the second lane keeps running at 160 km/h). In the Wells and Asimov works there are more steps in the speed scale and the speeds are less extreme.

In Arthur C. Clarke's novel, Against the Fall of Night (later rewritten as The City and the Stars) the Megacity of Diaspar is interwoven with "moving ways" which, unlike Heinlein's conveyor belts, are solid floors that can mysteriously move as a fluid. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917–19 March 2008 was a British Science fiction Author, Inventor, and Against the Fall of Night is an early (1953 work by Arthur C Clarke. The City and the Stars (1956 is a Science fiction novel by Arthur C A megacity is generally defined as a Metropolitan area with a total Population in excess of 10 million people The City and the Stars (1956 is a Science fiction novel by Arthur C On pages 11-13 of the novel, Clarke writes,

An engineer of the ancient world would have gone slowly mad trying to understand how a solid roadway could be fixed at both ends while its centre travelled at a hundred miles an hour. . . The corridor still inclined upwards, and in a few hundred feet had curved through a complete right-angle. But only logic knew this: to the senses it was now as if one were being hurried along an absolutely level corridor. The fact that he was in reality travelling up a vertical shaft thousands of feet deep gave Alvin no sense of insecurity, for a failure of the polarizing field was unthinkable.

The animated TV series The Jetsons depicts moving walkways everywhere, even in private homes. The Jetsons is a prime-time animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Dangers

If one is walking or running on a moving walkway they will experience a faster movement when they transfer from the moving floor to the still floor.

See also

• People mover
• Slidewalk
• Vermaport
• Escalator

References

External links

• Videoclip (on 'youtube') showing the Parisian high speed walkway. This clip is hand held, and at times it is a little unsteady. Towards the end of the clip note how the other people leaving the moving walkway stand with both feet firmly on the ground and one hand on the handrail whilst passing through the deceleration zone.
• Walkway propels Paris metro into future, a BBC article on the high-speed travelator at Gare Montparnasse station in Paris. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city (provided by CNIM)
• Briton dies in Rome station accident, BBC

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