The subway train that can climb a skyscraper: Radical new concept could see vertical stations in New York and London



Trains are able pivot like a Ferris wheel as they reach tower

Magnets will allow the train to rise up the tower

Stations in cities like London and New York are traditionally vast, cathedral like structures.

However, a new proposal calls for trains to climb up the side of skyscrapers to form the first vertical stations.

This would free up space in city centres, and allow passengers to be routed out of the station more effectively, its inventors say.

The future of stations? Its inventors say the vertical station would free up space in major cities

HOW IT WORKS As the train travels close to the tower it transitions from its horizontal formation, and ascends up the facade vertically. The individual compartments pivot similar to a ‘Ferris wheel’, allowing the passengers within the carriage to remain in an upright position and facing towards the cityscape.

The carriages will be supported by a magnetic structure located at either side. This eliminates the need for rails beneath, and allowing the carriages and its passengers to connect to the tower. Passengers will travel into the main lobby allowing travelers to ascend through the atrium and through the platforms and onto the carriages.



Called the Hyper Speed Vertical Train Hub, it could replace stations with a giant skyscraper, according to Christopher Christophi and Lucas Mazarrasa, the Londoners who came up with the idea.



Train carriages pivot like a Ferris wheel when they approach, and magnets on the side of the building allow them to rise up.

'The Hyper Speed Vertical Train Hub, aims to resolve the inevitable challenges that cities will face by 2075, and offers a deliverable and sustainable solution for the future of the transport generation,' they say.



The project will become a ‘repeatable’ piece of infrastructure that can be implemented to support any city around the world, connecting to a new Hyper Speed under and over ground network, with trains covering an average distance of 300miles in 30 minutes, they hope.

The huge towers would be as large as the Empire State building. Called Hyper Speed Vertical Train Hub, it could replace stations with a giant skyscraper. Train carriages pivot like a Ferris wheel then they approach, and magnets on the side of the building allow them to rise up.

'The Hyper-Speed Vertical Train Hub aims to replace existing flagship train stations and create new key connective points for the exchange of people and goods with the new hyper speed network. '

The proposal will ‘flip’ the traditional form and function of the current train station design vertically, and re-form it into a cylindrical mass to increase the towers train capacity.



The train tower aims to eliminate the current impact that traditional stations have currently on land use.



Passengers will travel into the main lobby allowing travelers to ascend through the atrium and through the platforms and onto the carriages.



The base of the tower will become a park, with bridge to connect people to the station's main lobby

Each carriage will contain ten passengers

'The trains will also create a dynamic and kinetic facade, one that will be continuously evolving and responsive to the workings of the vertical hub, a language that can be read by the whole city,' the team say.



As the train travels and transitions from its horizontal formation, and ascends up the facade vertically, the carriages will pivot similar to that on a ‘Ferris wheel’, allowing the passengers within the carriage to remain in an upright position and facing towards the cityscape.

