FAST, HIGH-CAPACITY ELEVATORS FOR DEEP MONTREAL STATION

An elevator system that carry approximately 5,000 passengers per hour in groups down the equivalent of 20 stories in about 20 s. is part of the Édouard-Montpetit Reseau express metropolitan (REM) station in Montreal, which will be the second-deepest station in North America (after one in Portland, Oregon) upon completion, CBC reports. Excavation for the station, one of 26 along a new multibillion-dollar, 67-km-long REM line, involves blasting and removal of 30,000 m3 of bedrock. Two crews of 30 working from early in the morning until late at night have excavated down about six stories, ahead of anticipated completion in 2020. At that point, work on the station, elevators and escalators can begin.