World's Fastest Elevator Hits Nearly 50 MPH: Would You Ride It?

The Japanese company Hitachi has developed the world's fastest elevator, running at 47 mph it will debut at the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre in China, according to the Daily Mail on Friday. The elevator is able to go up 95 floors in 43 seconds.

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The company had previously challenged itself to build the world's fastest elevator. In May of last year, the elevator hit 1,200 meters per minute (about 45 mph) during testing stages. It currently runs 1,260 meters per minute (about 47 mph) as tested in the CTF Finance Centre, a 530-meter (1739 feet) tall skyscraper. The building is ranked the third tallest in China and the seventh tallest in the world.

The National Elevator Quality Supervision and Inspection, a public accreditation body of elevators, recorded the speed of the elevator. Prior to being serviced in the CTF Finance Centre, the elevator's speed will return to 1,200 meters per minute.

"With advancing economic growth and urbanization, there is tremendous demand for ultra high-rise buildings in Asia's big cities. Accordingly, innovation in vertical infrastructure has become an urgent issue," reads a piece on Hitachi's website. "Hitachi is responding is by creating the world's fastest elevator, which is currently under construction in Guangzhou, China."

Hitachi was able to achieve such a fast speed by using a permanent magnet synchronous motor, stronger main ropes and a compact control unit able to handle high-speed elevator travel. The elevator also has brakes that have a high heat resistance to manage emergency stops. Hitachi also added air pressure adjustment technology to help reduce ear popping during the ride. Active guide rollers in the elevator help absorb vibrations during the ride to ensure the comfort of the elevator's passengers.

Upon its 2019 completion date, the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia is predicted to become the world's tallest building. The Finnish company Kone is designing the elevators for the building, and the possibility exists of it having a faster elevator than Hitachi's in the CTF Finance Centre, according to CNN in April. Albert So, an elevator engineering expert, told CNN he believes elevator technology cannot get much faster.

"I predict the maximum speed of a vertical lift cabin cannot be more than 79 feet per second. This is not because we can't make lifts that go faster than this, but because of the air pressure," he said. "If a lift traveled faster than this, it wouldn't give passengers enough time to acclimatize to the air pressure on the top floor."

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Hitachi is planning on using its new elevator as a model for future quality elevators, according to a May report on the company's website. Hitachi will provide 95 elevators to the Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre. Two of these elevators will be the world's fastest 1,200 meters per minute elevators, as well as 28 double-deck elevators that run at 600 meters per minute (about 22 mph).