Article 20 -Escalator Step and Moving Walk Pallet Requirements and Dimensions
Standard Requirements of Escalator Step and Moving Walk Pallet
The escalator step or moving walk pallet is a part that the passengers stand on. An escalator step is composed of a horizontal plate called “Step Tread Surface” and a vertical curved plate called “Step Riser” which creates a stair shape. A moving walk pallet is only a horizontal plate, laid beside other plates and creates a constant surface in direction of movement. The standard guidelines for the escalator Step and pallet are as below:
- The step tread surface must be horizontal and can have a maximum tolerance of ± 1° in direction of movement.
- Tread surfaces must provide a suitable foothold for user safety.
- The step and pallet thread surface must have grooves in the direction of movement, which must mesh with the comb teeth.
- The step riser must have smooth cleats that must mesh with the previous steps tread ends.
- The step tread, step riser or pallet must not finish with the grooves on the side edges.
- The edge between the surface of the step tread and riser must not have any sharpness.
Dimensions of Escalator Steps and Moving Walk Pallets
According to the standard EN 115-1:2017, the escalator step width must be between 580 millimeters and 1100 millimeters, as a result, the commonly available step widths are divided into three types: 600, 800, and 1000 millimeters.
On an escalator with a step width of 600 millimeters only one person, on an 800-millimeter step width an adult person with a child or a bag, and on a 1000-millimeter step width 2 adults can stand.
According to the standard EN 115-1:2017, the step depth must not be less than 380 millimeters, so that the commonly available depth for escalators steps is 400 millimeters. Also, according to the mentioned standard, the height between two steps must not exceed 240 millimeters as a result, normally in 30-degree escalators, the height between two steps is equal to 200 millimeters and for 35-degree escalators, this is equal to 230 millimeters.
According to the standard EN 115-1:2017, the moving walk pallet with an angle of inclination 10° to 12°, the width must be between 580 and 1100 millimeters, but for moving walks with an angle of inclination 0° up to 6°, the authorized widths can be up to 1650 millimeters. As a result, in moving walks with 0° to 6° degree inclination the commonly available pallet widths are 800, 1000, 1200, and 1400 millimeters, while moving walks with 10° to 12° degree inclination, the commonly available pallet width are 800 and 1000 millimeters.
| Mowing Walk | Escalator | |
| 10 up to 12 | 0 up to 6 | 30 & 35 |
| 800 mm | 800 mm | 600 mm |
| 1000 mm | 1000 mm | 800 mm |
| - | 1200 mm | 1000 mm |
| - | 1400 mm | - |
Escalator Steps and Moving Walk Pallets Resistance
During the life cycle of the escalator, the strength characteristics of the materials must be maintained under all environmental conditions (temperature, ultraviolet radiation, humidity, corrosion). Therefore, all components of the assembled step and pallet must be completely and securely attached and not become loose during their life cycle.
When the escalator and moving walks operate normally, steps or pallets must withstand all the loads and distortion effects that may be imposed by tracking, guiding, and driving systems. Steps and pallets must be able to support an equally distributed load corresponding to 6000 N/m2 that is calculated 5000 N/m2 plus an impact factor of 1,2.
To ensure the integrity of the step and pallet structure performance, two types of tests are available: Static and dynamic that we have explained in detail in Article 22 and Article 23.
