English Story

伦敦地铁扶梯允许两边站人

One of the busiest stations on London Underground, Holborn was the first station in the country to urge travellers to stand on both the right and left of upward-moving escalators during an experiment in November last year. 
 
霍尔本地铁站是伦敦地下交通系统最繁忙的站点之一,在去年11月的一次试行中,霍尔本地铁站在英国率先允许乘客可以站在上行扶梯的左右两边。
 
The previous test, which lasted for three weeks, showed that standing actually reduced congestion by 30 per cent – 16,220 people an hour were able to travel on the escalator during rush hour compared to the usual 12,745 when both standing and walking are allowed. 
 
Transport for London (TfL) hopes the new standing formation, which this time will be tested for six months, will make the most of wasted space on longer escalators, where most people choose to wait on the right. 
 
Many passengers had expressed concern at being forced to stand where previously they would have chosen to dash up the stairs, but TfL have addressed those fears ahead of this latest experiment. 
 
A third 'up' escalator will be available for people who wish to tackle the steps with more vigour, they said. 
 
Signs and information will be displayed around the station to encourage people to participate and prevent confusion during the six-month experiment. 
 
They will range from the creative – a talking projection of a staff member – to the more traditional – signs on the floors, footprints on the escalator steps, handprints on the handrails and station announcements.