The elevator at Roppongi station is out of order, and can't be repaired

[kuro68000]

https://www.sankei.com/article/20230113-NX7JXCB5PFLNNB3RI4L42ARVCU/

 

Roppongi station on the Toei Oedo Line has the deepest elevator in Japan, apparently. It's broken down, and the Finnish company Kone that made it has withdrawn from the Japanese market. Apparently they can't fix it, so presumably it will have to be replaced but that is going to take a while.

[katoftw]

This isn't a abnormal situation. Slow news day.  Elevators normally go through a full overhaul every 15-20 years. Sometimes just a rebuild. Other times a full re-engineer.

[JR East]

Elevators are frequently bespoke (no real "standard") as elevator pit, capacity etc ... steer the design an sometimes the technology associated. If they have to change it, it'll be another bespoke, whatever the provider is. 

[railsquid]

FWIW the article states that a replacement part will need to be imported from Finland, which will take an unknown amount of time; the elevator is scheduled for replacement with one provided by a company with a presence in Japan; this has been done already at "other" Oedo Line stations (I assume all stations are meant).

[bikkuri bahn]

For whatever reason Tokyo-to seems to have quite a few foreign suppliers for their projects (housing, Toei subway, etc.). You'll notice some of the escalators in Toei stations are Schindler, as are the elevators in public housing. Here in Sapporo some of the escalators are Otis make in the subway stations.

[chadbag]

yeah I've seen Otis escalators a bunch on my last trip as well as Otis and ThyssenKrupp (or their predecessor) elevators.

[JR East]

A friend of mine work at TK elevators and - as we were discussing - told me it's a nightmare with electronic components disruption as you can't really substitute a component with another (or a combination of components). Biscally, they have spare parts as well as new elevators blocked with no expected delivery date for the customers. Trying to find them on 'grey' market is not a solution as they're facing more & more counterfeit parts. 

[cteno4]

Aging population in many countries means elevator and escalator installations are on the rise. It’s rumored to be a very lucrative job these days working on them.

 

jeff

[Giugiaro]

It's like a kind of DRM. Mechanically you can fix the lift.

But digitally? Good luck.

[maihama eki]

When visiting cities in Japan, I am always amazed that with the huge number of escalators and moving walkways, they are almost never out-of-order. In the U.S., it is very common to encounter them broke down/shut down - often for extended periods of time. I don't know if it is because they are better maintained in Japan or if they are much better at immediately repairing them. Maybe both.

[Beaver]

4 hours ago, maihama eki said:

I don't know if it is because they are better maintained in Japan or if they are much better at immediately repairing them. Maybe both.

 

I think it's both but with more emphasis on the second. One thing that always struck me in my daily travels around Tokyo's metroland was that in off-peak hours the place is crawling with technicians. Heading home for a late lunch after early starting Japanese class I was always seeing men in overalls with toolboxes on sack barrows riding up and down the Oedo Line, always at the last door on the last car in the train, hopping in and out at stations to fix this and tweak that and empty the other. Presumably fixing up everything that broke or malfunctioned during morning rush hour so as to have everything perfect again in time for the evening rush.

 

On one occasion I was recharging my PASMO card when a technician in an access space behind the machines suddenly pulled the machine out of the wall, apologised for the interruption, tweaked something on the machine, apologised again, put the machine back in the wall so I could get the card back!

Edited January 20, 2023 by Space Beaver