Quality Wins Project of the Year

The view from the cabins approaching the south station

The unique aspects of the project called for innovative construction techniques and a number of firsts in the in- dustry. For example, the erection of the South Tower re- quired the installation of the largest lifting-capacity crawler crane in Europe. The crane, which runs on tracks (instead of wheels) to aid mobility, was put together on site over a period of two weeks and delivered using more than 70 articulated lorries. Its reach is 120 m, with a height of 183 m. The large temporary structure, dubbed LR 1350, had a maximum lifting capacity of 1,350 mT -- the equiva- lent of 193 Routemaster buses. The immense lift capacity was required to lift pieces of each tower into place, some of which weighed up to 68 mT each. Both areas surrounding Emirates Air Line have been earmarked for several projects with the Royal Victoria Docks, selected as one of the new Local Enterprise Zones. The line will play a key role in supporting these projects by providing a quicker and more-direct link. It will also

provide access to a range of entertainment, professional and leisure opportunities. On its first day in operation, the system transported more than 20,000 people and has proved to be reliable and effective. Between June 28 and August 12, 2012, the system carried more than 700,000 people. Transportation System The transportation system consists of a continuous single rope measuring 50 mm, to which up to 34 cabins can be at- tached. The system is efficient and, as with a traction eleva- tor, only has to provide power to move the out-of-balance load when the cabins are out on the line and equally spaced. The system had to be fully accessible for persons with mobility impairments and has a feature that allows cabins to stop for loading and unloading, whereas in normal op- eration, the cabins keep moving slowly in the station areas. In order to achieve this, an anti-collision system had to be designed into the software. Continued

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