Moving walkways for shopping centers

The need of a supermarket, a subway station or a shopping center is to ensure rapid circulation for a large number of people. This is the reason why escalators or moving walkways are definitely the most suitable solution for them.

For shopping centers specifically, the choice often falls on the inclined moving walkways. In fact, unlike the escalators, inclined moving walkways allow people to overcome inter-floor levels while transporting their shopping carts. While it is true that elevators allow it too, moving walkways can carry a much greater number of people than lifts. This is a key factor for preferring walkways to lifts.

The reference regulation, EN115-1: 2017, establishes that the inclination for this type of systems can be between 6° and 12 °.

Moving walkways’ segments, which essentially represent the equivalent of escalators’ steps, may vary in size depending on the manufacturer: generally, segments’ depth varies from 130 mm up to 400 mm. They are designed to allow the adherence of the wheels of the shopping trolleys to prevent them from sliding forward on the downhill paths and backwards on the uphill paths. This is an important safety feature for customers,

For this reason, moving walkways’ grooves have been specifically designed for the use of self-braking trolleys.

It’s also important to remind that moving walkways do not represent a mean for overcoming architectural barriers and cannot be used with strollers, baby carriages and wheelchairs. For these users there’s the obligation to access higher levels through the use of elevators.

The elegance of SMI new series of moving walkways (MW series) is the result of a great attention to detail that comes from a deep knowledge of customers’ needs.

The I2020 and F2020 models of the new MW series are therefore a natural choice for moving walkways dedicated to shopping centers, supermarkets and hypermarkets, but also for other contexts with particularly high pedestrian flows such as airports and railway stations.

SMI, is always at the side of its customers. Contact the SMI expert team for product information or technical support regarding escalators or moving walkways.