1300 Escalator Failures in Incheon Subway Over 5 Years... 89% Made in China

'Safety Device Failures' 492 Cases... Frequent Accidents at Bupyeong Station and Gajeong Station
Assemblyman Heo Jong-sik "Measures Needed Such as Equipment Localization"

In the past five years, there have been 1,300 escalator malfunctions on Incheon Subway Lines 1 and 2, with 38% of these being 'safety device failures.'

According to data submitted by Incheon City to Heo Jong-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Incheon Dong-gu and Michuhol-gu Gap), from 2018 to June of this year, escalator malfunctions on Incheon Lines 1 and 2 were recorded at 569 and 724 cases respectively, totaling 1,293 cases.

By type of malfunction, safety device failures were the most frequent at 492 cases (38%), followed by control unit failures at 262 cases (20%), and handrail failures at 160 cases (12%). Safety devices play a role in preventing various hazards that can occur on escalators, such as overspeed and reverse movement prevention devices and step chain safety devices. Therefore, frequent safety device failures indicate a higher risk of accidents.

The stations with the most escalator malfunctions were Bupyeong Station on Line 1 (62 cases) and Gajeong Station on Line 2 (74 cases). The typical replacement cycle for escalators is 15 to 20 years, after which they are classified as 'aged equipment.' For Incheon Line 1, which opened in 1999, 15% of all escalators have exceeded the 20-year replacement cycle, and at Bupyeong Station, 13 out of 18 escalators (72%) are classified as aged escalators.

Subway Escalator Malfunction
Photo by Yonhap News

Although Incheon Line 2 has been in operation for 11 years, which is shorter than Line 1, the number of escalator malfunctions is higher than Line 1, and notably, the safety device failure rate is 50.7%, exceeding the average of Lines 1 and 2 (38.1%). Since 89% of Incheon Subway escalators are imported from China, it has been pointed out that there are difficulties in maintenance and repair due to poor parts supply when malfunctions occur.

Out of a total of 449 escalators on Lines 1 and 2, 399 units (88.8%) are imported from China, and all 207 escalators on Line 2 are Chinese-made. The Incheon Transit Corporation spent 2.6 billion KRW on repairs for escalator malfunctions on Line 1 and 900 million KRW on Line 2 over five years.

Assemblyman Heo stated, "Since escalator malfunctions in the subway are directly related to citizens' convenience and safety, it is necessary to thoroughly analyze the causes of malfunctions and actively prepare measures such as securing parts supply and domestic production of equipment in case of failures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.