by Carmen Maldacena, EW Correspondent
"Down between the walls of shadow, Where the iron laws insist. . . " ("Subway" by Carl Sandburg), we will appreciate ThyssenKrupp Elevadores S.A.'s contribution to the updating and improvement of the Buenos Aires subway, which already enhanced city life in 1913. Escalators and elevators, specially designed to meet the requirements of passengers with disabilities, have increased the number of accessible stations to percentages similar to those achieved in modern metro networks around the world.
The Progressive Past
Between 1903 and 1913, Buenos Aires' population and traffic had increased so amazingly 895,381 to 1,457,885 inhabitants that it was necessary to improve the means of transport with the installation of underground electrical trams. The government issued an ordinance allowing the tramway company Anglo-Argentina to build and operate the first metro line in Latin America. Consequently, Buenos Aires ranked 12th in the listing of cities with underground transportation after London, Athens, Budapest, Glasgow, Vienna, Paris, Berlin, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Hamburg.
Works employing 1,500 laborers started in 1911 by cutting out the first ditch, and the first section of today's Line "A" was opened in 1913 with 50 Belgian trains powered by the German Transatlantic Electricity Co. There followed the Lacroze Line Line "B" which opened in 1930; the CHADOPYF Line Line "C" finished in 1937, and Line "E" started in 1948 and finished by 1985. The Buenos Aires metro was private until 1939, when it was incorporated to the Buenos Aires Transport Corp. and, after subsequent changes, the network was run by Subterráneos de Buenos Aires, Sociedad del Estado (Buenos Aires Subway, State Society or SBASE) which in 1979, fell into the jurisdiction of the Buenos Aires Municipality.
Lift Devices in the Old Times
The concept of accessibility was not widely spread until relatively recently so there were just a few subway stations that offered escalators; apropos, quite an attraction. Today's Line "C" is furnished with escalators located between the station lobby and access to the train platforms. The original Line "A" featured an outdoor escalator in 1968. The first equipment of the sort in the country, it replaced a stairway in the Perú station in the city center. It was followed by two outdoor parallel escalators in 1969 and a fourth one in 1972.
The Encouraging Present
The Buenos Aires metro development reflects the ups and downs of the Argentine history during the last 50 years, so closely related to economic and political discontinuities. Even though the "golden age" of the 1910s-1930s was over, Buenos Aires kept growing with a huge increase in surface transportation in the way of buses and private cars. Air pollution, high noise levels, lack of safety and inefficiency brought about a significant deterioration of life quality along with economic losses. Millions of inhabitants have endured these inconveniences in the hopes of an updated and enlarged metro system, which, in the meantime, had changed very little.
1993: The Turning Point
Hopes turned into expectations when the sluggish development of the Buenos Aires metro was suddenly shaken by the privatizing wave in 1993. Up to that year, SBASE was both the owner and operator of the Buenos Aires metro network. Its operation was privatized and Metrovías S.A. became responsible for it with the National Secretary of Transportation controlling the quality of the concession. All these changes, though untidy, rendered fruitful improvement and expansion plans for the subway.
At present, SBASE is dedicated to project, direction and management of new lines and extensions, which are financed by municipal resources. Metrovías operates the original five lines and is in charge of the refurbishment and remodeling of old stations. In spite of the recent economic difficulties, the Buenos Aires metro renovation has gained momentum. SBASE is investing part of the city revenue in the construction of a new 3.5-kilometer-long Line "H" which will link the five original lines, and the extension of Line "D" to serve the densely populated Belgrano district.
The renovation process carried out in the existing lines by Metrovías included the adaptation of the subway stations and trains to the needs of passengers with disabilities to facilitate their access and movement within the network. The global project to adapt all the stations and improve accessibility includes the installation of elevators to access the platforms directly from the street. In this case, the elevator features a machine that electronically validates the entrance ticket. The replacement of old escalators and of exiting stairways by heavy-duty outdoor escalators was one of the major targets in the project together with the installation of lifts in railway stations. Carriage adaptation to fasten wheelchairs, Braille signaling, prevention pavements in dangerous sectors and a special sound system to facilitate communication with persons using hearing aids complete the schedule.
At present, there are four stations Congreso de Tucumán, Juramento, Tribunales and Facultad de Medicina in Line "D" and three others Acoyte, Los Incas and Tronador in Line "A" with total accessibility.
ThyssenKrupp Elevadores' Main Role in Metro Accessibility
Replacement of 53 Old Escalators
After the metro's privatization, several elevator companies thought about tackling the challenge set by Metrovías as the first step toward station refurbishment. To replace 53 escalators was an attractive and difficult task as the contract included not only the installation of new equipment but the dismantling of the old plus all related masonry. Finally, in 1995, ThyssenKrupp Elevadores met all the customer's requirements and signed its first contract with Metrovías to supply and install 53 new heavy-duty escalators.
These escalators were manufactured in ThyssenKrupp Norte located in Mieres, Spain, and complied with the following general specifications:
-- Speed: 0.50mps
-- Capacity: 9,000 passengers/hour
-- Black rubber/tarpaulin handrails
-- High-resistant automatically lubricated traction chains
-- Oil separating system
-- Remote stop switch
-- Sill located micro switches
-- Special rollers with 75,000 hours of service life
-- Illuminated undercombs
-- Traffic lights
-- Breakdown display
-- Handrail synchronism and damage safety
-- Fire-resisting wires
Ing. Daniel López Pertierra, ThyssenKrupp Argentina general manager, kindly described the replacement process to your reporter.
Daniel López Pertierra (LP): To be able to succeed in the fulfillment of this highly complex project, it was necessary to carry out a precise survey to supply the correct escalator in each case. As to the installation challenges, they were great due to the lack of space in the corridors and the tight working time schedule, which was from 11 p.m. to 4.30 a.m.
EW: How long did it take you to complete the job?
LP: It took us from December 1995 to August 1997. Basically, the installation procedures followed these steps: A protecting fence was built around the old escalator, which was dismantled, and all the pieces of equipment, particularly, handrails, steps, motor and controller were classified in great detail. It was then time to clean the pit. As ThyssenKrupp was also in charge of the masonry, we had to adapt the supporting concrete structure to the new escalator. Controllers were repaired or new ones supplied if they were badly damaged.
EW: How could you put the new equipment into place, considering the entrance narrowness?
LP: All the escalators arriving from Europe were stored at Metrovías' depot and only the sections to be installed on each particular day were shipped to the jobsite. We could introduce the smaller pieces from the street and through the corridors down to the platform where the assembly started. The bigger pieces had to be loaded onto flat-rail wagons, transported along the railways up to the corresponding station and unloaded onto the platform. The escalator sections were then hoisted above the area and inched into place. Once the truss was assembled, we installed the guide rails, chains, steps, balustrade and handrails. After wiring and adjustment, the escalator was ready to start running.
EW: Some stations are beautifully decorated. Did that cause extra pains?
LP: It did. Those stations belong to the national historic heritage so that the tiles decorating the walls had to be preserved.
Replacement of 33 Stairways by Escalators
In 1999, ThyssenKrupp supplied 33 new escalators and installed them in lieu of the existing stairways in different stations of the Buenos Aires metro network.
EW: Could you compare this process to that of the old escalators' replacement?
LP: It was much more difficult because as there was no escalator, the technicians had to fix the future escalator position, calculate the possible access and be careful not to interfere with surface activity on the sidewalk. In addition, we had to carry out soil surveys, ground drillings for possible interference with pipelines, electric and telephonic wiring, pull down concrete structures, and then excavate, underpin the remaining structure, fill in with concrete. . . Only then was the site ready to receive the new escalator.
Installation of a Round Panoramic Elevator
In 1998, ThyssenKrupp signed a contract with SBASE to supply and install three automatic simplex panoramic elevators for Estación Juramento in Line "D."
EW: What are the main characteristics of these three elevators?
LP: Two of them service two stops from the ticket office intermediate floor to the platforms, and the third one travels from the sidewalk level to the intermediate floor. All three elevators are hydraulic with 14,400 kcal/hour oil coolers, 2:1 side jacks except the round panoramic one which is furnished with a central three-stage telescopic piston which allowed us reduced drilling.
EW: The one with the round car is the most impressive. . .
LP: Because of its shape and the circular doors. Its capacity is 900 kilograms and the inside car diameter of 1,500 millimeters provides the necessary room for a wheelchair to turn around. The circular doors render an opening of 900 millimeters. The car is transparent with no visual interferences as the supporting car frame is located underneath.
EW: Did you assemble the car on the jobsite?
LP: No. It was put into place in one piece directly from the street level by means of a crane. We had the car frame guide shoes coincide with the guide rails, adjusted them and then the car was lowered into place. On the contrary, the other two elevators were introduced into the station totally unassembled.
The Promising Future
There are only eight metropolis in the developing world six of them located in Latin America with over 10 million inhabitants equipped with insufficient metro networks. Even though their metro development is slow on account of the huge investments involved, it is the best way to ease congested surface traffic and pollution. In Buenos Aires, the trend started in 1993 moves steadily forward in spite of the deep crisis in Argentina. This year, SBASE will open for the public's use two new stations in Line "B" with a new stretch of 1.8 kilometers. In 2005, it expects to finish the new Line "H." There is a four-to-five-year plan of extension and completion of the existing lines and the building of four new ones with an overall net increase of 50 kilometers. This project is scheduled to start in 2004 and, when completed, it will double the present length of the network (maps).
Awareness of providing people with disabilities a comfortable and easy access to this excellent means of transport creates new possibilities for the elevator industry. In the near future, the provision of 22 escalators to serve several stations in Line "H" now under construction will be opened to public bidding.
ThyssenKrupp Elevadores has furnished the Buenos Aires metro with reliable equipment and contributed to the aesthetic value of modern stations. Hopefully, this precedent may be kept to the benefit of the city and its inhabitants.
Special credit and thanks to ThyssenKrupp Elevadores General Manager Ing. Daniel H. López Pertierra, SBASE Jobs and Projects Manager Ing. Miguel Oroz and Metrovías Chief Job Manager Arq. Marcelo Díaz Cano.