Seoul transit company: No walking on escalator
SEOUL — There’s a new rule for walking on subway escalators: Don’t.
The Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit — which runs subway lines five through eight — announced last week it is going to ban people from walking up station escalators because of an increase in accidents, according to a Korea Times report. The report didn’t say what day the new policy will go into effect.
Seoul Metro, the company running subway lines one through four, also is reviewing its escalator policy, according to the report.
Both companies adopted the policy of allowing people to walk on the left as other passengers stood on the right in 2002.
“In 2002, there were 16 accidents on escalators on subway lines five to eight, but the accident rate increased to 87 in 2006, mainly due to walking passengers on escalators,” SMRT spokesman Kim Wan-gi was quoted as saying in the Korea Times report. “We urge passengers not to walk on escalators because it is dangerous.”
Kim said the weight of all the passengers standing on the right also has created mechanical problems, the report said.
