See how Otis modernized one of the world’s most unique metro networks

The Chongqing Metro is a vital urban transit system, with more than four million daily riders traversing the city’s mountainous terrain, crossing rivers, going deep underground and even between buildings on open air rails. When it came time to modernize its aging vertical transportation systems – more than 120 elevators and escalators across 18 train stations on Line 2 – Otis was selected to incorporate the latest elevator and escalator technologies, improve safety and enhance the passenger experience.

Now complete, the modernized elevators and escalators continue to be serviced by the Otis team, including veteran team member Chunhong LI. Watch as Chunhong shares how this mammoth modernization project improved safety:

Avoiding Disruption, Overcoming Geographic Obstacles

Chongqing is a densely populated city of 22 million people, many of whom rely on the Metro as their primary means of transportation. So it was vital for Otis China to execute the modernization project without disrupting routine train service.

Chongqing’s geography also presented unique challenges. A modern metropolis with ancient origins, the city is built on mountains and encircled by rivers, making it more difficult to modernize infrastructure. For example, much of the equipment could only be transported manually to worksites. Otis understood this well, having previously installed close to 200 escalators for Chongqing Metro Line 9, which includes Hongyancun station, a metro station that operates 116 meters (or 39 floors) underground.

Redefining Safety on the Move

With speed and safety as top priorities, Otis’s renovation of Line 2 included the legacy truss modernization of 95 escalators - assembling and testing the new escalators as modular units in the factory and transporting them to the site to be installed into the existing truss framework with minimal downtime. The Otis team also replaced six escalators, two SPAN freight elevators and 16 Gen2® elevators.

The modernized elevators feature the Otis ONE® internet of things (IoT) platform, which digitalizes maintenance and reinforces safety by monitoring equipment health and performance 24/7. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in the cloud, the platform analyzes data to deliver real-time performance information and predictive insights for unit management and maintenance.

Service professionals use the Otis ONE® app on their smartphones to identify problems, manage equipment and spare parts remotely and help prevent service interruptions throughout the unit’s lifetime. These IoT- and AI-powered features give field professionals visibility into how their units are operating and the ability to address any safety concerns in real time. And the accompanying Otis CX Customer App provides the Chongqing Metro managers transparent access to their elevator data for improved elevator management workflow.

“Otis ONE® helps us automatically check the equipment for issues and find out if adjustments need to be made,” Chunhong said. “It can test how our escalators are performing. It can also detect abnormal sounds or vibrations that you can’t see with the naked eye, helping us quickly pinpoint and solve issues – enhancing safety, providing better customer service, and improving the passenger experience and.”

Learn more about how Otis’ Modernization offerings can enhance the safety of your building’s elevators or escalators at https://www.otis.com/en/us/products-services/modernization-upgrades/modernization.