No longer slumming it! Gigantic outdoor escalator installed in Pablo Escobar's old city reduces 35minute hike up hill to just 6mins for Colombia's poorest
- Enormous 384-metre long escalator in Medellin is finally complete
- It prevents residents from trudging up steps which are the equivalent of a 28-storey building
- City was once home to Pablo Escobar - the most renowned criminal of all time
By
Anthony Bond
|
As one of the world's most dangerous cities, life in Medellin can be pretty tough.
But despite the bleak poverty and constant threat from criminal gangs, there is one ray of sunlight for the city's inhabitants.
Based in one of the poorest districts of Colombia's second largest city, the enormous 384 metre (1,260ft) long escalator has made the lives of its residents a whole lot easier.
Unique: This £4million 384-metre long escalator has been built on the hillside of Medellin in Columbia
Handy: This giant outdoor escalator has cut the
journey time for people living in Medellin's tough Comuna 13 from 35
minutes to just six
For generations 12,000 people living
in Medellin's tough Comuna 13 - which clings to a hillside - have had to
made the arduous journey up hundreds of large steps, the equivalent to
climbing up a 28-storey building.
But now this giant outdoor escalator has cut their journey from 35-minutes to just six.
The escalator was completed in 2011 but
it was only recently that a cover was put over it - meaning that, no
matter what the weather, the city's residents are completely covered.
The escalator is divided into six sections so people living on all parts of the hillside have easy access to it.
Accessible: The escalator is divided into six sections so people living on all parts of the hillside have easy access to it
Modern: The brightly-coloured escalator looks out of place among the dilapidated shantytown homes
It cost just over £4million to construct
and looks out of place among the dilapidated shantytown homes but is
one of several projects taking place in the city.
It is believed the outdoor escalator is the first of its kind in the world.
Resident Olga Holguin, was one of the first people to take a ride up the escalator when it was constructed.
She said: 'It's wonderful, it's a dream come
true.'
Helpful: It is hoped regeneration projects like this escalator will help reduce crime levels
Run down: The escalator is based in one of the poorest districts in Columbia's second largest city
Notorious: Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and
his wife Victoria Henao are pictured. Medellin gained its fierce
reputation through his criminal activities
Comuna 13 has been plagued by urban violence over the years but it is hoped regeneration projects like this will help.
Medellin earned its unfortunate reputation as one of the world's most dangerous cities thanks to Pablo Escobar, the most renowned criminal of all time.
The city was the fortress of the cocaine king. The new escalator is a symbol of defiance in the city which two decades ago was the most dangerous and murderous city on the planet.
Every day, several car bombs could explode as Escobar's cartel went to war with the state.
Happy: The escalator is free for people to use, with some saying its like a 'dream come true'
Security: This policeman is pictured at the top of the escalator with a gun, a sign of the risks many face in the shanty town
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