SLOW SÛR Hydraulic Elevator - República Station (Line 3) - SP, BR

Описание: SÛR hydraulic elevator from the 1980s at the República metro station in São Paulo. One of the better Metro elevators I managed to film. Exclusive kind of Sûr, seemingly made only for the São Paulo metro.

The station itself was opened in 1982, not sure if this elevator was really installed during construction or some time after, definitely is from the 80s though. There are other elevators like this one in here, and some late 2010s ThyssenKrupps in the Line 4 section, separate from this one.
As for the escalators, like all ones on the CMSP network built in the 70s and 80s, this station has mostly Atlas MTEs and a few transit-spec Otis 48 units. Line 4 section uses TK Tugela.

Also unclear if this is the Hidro HS model or something else, but it's definitely hydraulic.
Although there are 4 stops, it normally only goes between the platform (P) and exit (M) levels for public users, those 2 blank floors in the middle are locked and only used if needed in an emergency, or by the staff. Even the indicator goes blank as if it was an "express zone". They likely lead to technicial/emergency areas.

The cab is very tiny, smaller than usual "regular" building elevators, since these aren't made for select and low traffic. Low ceiling for some reason, not very deep back, probably only really fits some 3 persons without crowding. Interior is all in stainless steel, though not really the "Lumen" series cab, it's only like this for the application. Big mirror in the back, grill ceiling panels, loud fan that barely helps, and the lighting isn't too good (like most station elevators, old or new). Notice the additional features like bumpers all over the walls and rubber floor to prevent slipperies.
Fixtures somewhat regular of Sûr, a special line made only for these transit elevators, very simple but with a few differences, uses the Fujitec touch buttons with incandescent lighting and ST-99 Plus dot-matrix indicators. They have unusually wider COPs and LOPs with big grille that I assume were for an older intercom system that seems to have been disabled when they retrofitted those newer modules on them. Not features normally found on Sûr's fixtures, especially from that time, as they used thinner panels, so these are almost exclusively only seen in these Metro elevators. All have those rare hall lanterns with the ST-99+ and the arrow, but I never saw one of those working on any of these, don't know if they played any chimes.
This elevator is in surprisingly good condition, like most of the metro in general - clean, well maintained and users take care of the system it as well. Since it's very lightly used, it still holds up. Barely any damages, fixtures still work and look just as new. Feels good to use, far from sketchy like most transit elevators normally are.

Performance is... above anything else, SLOW. Really slow. Long delay to close the doors (on purpose, to give time to intended users who might be slower in entering and exiting, actually a well thought-out feature), travel is as slow as can be, that also for being a hydro and the high travel height. No hurry on this. All this "slowness" might be intentional too to discourage regular passengers from using it as well.
Maybe traction would be ideal for this, and probably wouldn't have the jolts which aren't good for users with balancing issues, but it's still very soft on this one. Free of issues, runs really nicely, no noises, no irregularities, all okay in my book. Doors are doing great too considering the application it's in. Great to see a now rare model in great shape as it was originally!
Maintenance by Basic Elevators, a local independent company who has the contract for a most of CMSP's older stations. They seem to do a pretty good job on their part, elevators in this application aren't the best to work with, but they appear to manage to keep them well despite that.


Specifications:
Manufacturer: SÛR
Mantainer: Basic Elevators (local company)
Model: Hidro HS(?)
Fixtures: Custom "Transit" series, Fujitec capacitive buttons (1st gen), ST-99 Plus indicators
Type: Transit elevator
Hoisting: In-ground hydraulic
Doors: Center-opening
Capacity: 600 kg/8 persons (apx. 1300 lbs.)
In Service: 1982 (uncertain)
Floors Served: 4 (P - A - ? - M*)
Controller: Sûr AC-2
Machine: GMV(?) sumbersible hydraulic unit
Rating: 9/10 - Quite a nice find, especially since it's an exclusive version, well, all of these Sûrs are becoming rare anyway. Cab and fixtures have some interesting and rare features not found everywhere, and it's the kind of interesting model I like to see. Performance is really slow and delayed on purpose, but given the intended use, isn't the big deal. In great shape and runs very well, no noticeable issues, so it's great on my book, even more as a model I don't come across too often.


Filmed: May 8, 2025
Camera: Samsung Galaxy A54 - HD 720p 30FPS
© 2025 L. Naves