Destinations Known | Where is Asia’s longest escalator and will Malaysia challenge the title with new walkway at its Batu Caves, packed with people this week for the Thaipusam festival?
- Asia’s longest escalator is in mainland China, but a new effort planned for Malaysia’s Batu Caves might come close
- The new escalator will give visitors an alternative to the 272 coloured steps that climb to the Sri Subramaniar cave temple – and is likely to be very busy
Which is the world’s longest escalator?
The one in Hong Kong that takes commuters from Central up to Mid-Levels is often given as the answer, but that’s not really true, since those 800 metres (2,625 feet) of covered moving walkway are in fact split into several sections.
The Guinness World Records says: “The world’s longest escalator system is Hong Kong’s Central Hillside Escalator Link.”
That leaves the field open to a trio of joint winners of the genuinely longest (single) escalator title – at least as far as the public is aware; who knows whether there is a longer one in some secret subterranean bunker designed for the military or a prepping billionaire? And all three are 138-metre-long escalators in metro stations in St Petersburg, Russia.
The longest single stretch of rising moving walkway in Asia is the Huangguan (aka Crown Grand, aka Lianglukou) Escalator in Chongqing, China. It opened in 1996 and connects the Chongqing railway station to the Lianglukou metro station, a distance of 112 metres.
