Serious flaws have been found in high-speed elevators, both Russian and foreign-made. If the electricity goes out, they can fail and become life-threatening.
Rostandart is already developing a new state standard for manufacturers of gearless high-speed elevators in Russia. The goal is to minimize the risk of accidents. This decision was supported by the National Lift Union and the manufacturers themselves.
From 2026, new elevators will be equipped with advanced safety systems. At the same time, the State Duma is preparing a bill that will significantly tighten control over elevator maintenance.
Why New Elevators Are Failing
Since 2018, more than 130 people have died and over 300 have been injured in Russia due to elevator accidents. In 2023, 13 people died and 38 were injured in accidents, and in 2024, 7 and 19 respectively. Elevators are failing not only in old buildings but also in new buildings — residential buildings, shopping malls, and office centers. It turned out that even recently installed high-speed elevators have serious design problems.
In the last five to seven years, elevators with gearless winches have become popular, in which the speed range is covered by changing the rotation speed of the electric motor. These are modern high-speed elevators that provide high comfort during movement. However, their shortcomings have been revealed during operation, sometimes leading to dangerous incidents with injuries and deaths of passengers.
He noted that with normal power supply, high-speed elevators are absolutely safe. The frequency converter provides smooth acceleration and deceleration of the car, as well as precise positioning at floor level. However, according to Alexey Zotochkin, if the power is turned off due to a thunderstorm, fire, or technical malfunction, problems may arise.
For example, the motor may stop stopping the elevator. In this case, the mechanical brake, which should fix the car when stopped, does not work, and the elevator begins to accelerate uncontrollably. According to the expert, at this moment, the catches are triggered, which abruptly stop the falling car.
Passengers experience a serious overload at this moment. Many fall and suffer serious injuries.
It is even worse when the elevator, under the action of the counterweight, uncontrollably flies upward. In such cases, the catch system may be absent, and the car hits the upper limiters. As a result, people suffer serious injuries, notes the NLS specialist.
Today, there are claims not only to braking systems but also to lifting and lowering mechanisms, as well as to devices that ensure safety during the evacuation of people, emphasized Lev Volf-Trop, chairman of the technical committee for standardization TC 209 of Rostandart.
For example, if a breakdown occurs in a modern elevator on the top floor, it will not be easy to evacuate passengers. It will be difficult for technicians to reach the mechanisms located in the upper part of the shaft.
In such a situation, you have to look for non-standard solutions. Experts say that you need to use jacks to lift a multi-ton counterweight and lower the car. This is associated with certain risks.
Therefore, automatic systems are needed to evacuate passengers from a stuck elevator and an additional emergency power source.
To improve the safety of elevators, the main interstate standard will be changed. Rostandart commissioned its development in January 2025.
At the same time, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is preparing its own standards, which are aimed at eliminating the shortcomings of high-speed elevators of foreign production.
New Requirements
There are other problems in the operation of high-speed elevators that are not so critical. According to the National Lift Union, in some shopping centers, elevators with transparent cars and glass doors can get stuck on visitors' clothes, and when the doors open, suck them inside.
Maintenance of compact elevators is also complicated, as the engine, mechanisms, winches, and control systems are located in the upper part of the shaft, and not in the machine room, as it was before.
A compact elevator is beneficial for developers, as it saves on the usable area of the building and reduces the consumption of building materials. But it is inconvenient to maintain such elevators without machine rooms, since it is necessary to take the elevator out of operation, because the service is carried out from the roof of the car.
According to the National Lift Union, the issue of building machine rooms will also be addressed as part of the development of a new standard.
Rostandart reported that the technical requirements that will be included in the new GOST 33984.1 will become the main ones in a year and a half.
The document is being developed in accordance with the international standard ISO 8100-1:2025 and takes into account trends in the development of technologies in the industry. The standard is expected to be ready for delivery in June 2026.
The work on the development of the standard is controlled by the technical committee for standardization TC 209. On its basis, a working group has been created from six leading elevator manufacturers in Russia, who will determine the key requirements for elevators.
According to Rostekhnadzor, in 2024, the number of violations in elevator maintenance in Russia increased fourfold compared to 2023. In 2024, 5.6 thousand violations were recorded, while a year earlier there were only 1.5 thousand.
Among the most common violations are non-compliance with inspection deadlines, the use of unqualified repairmen, and the continued operation of faulty elevators.
Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation reported that almost 90% of elevator equipment in the country was produced at domestic enterprises. State support measures are in place for Russian companies.
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