Japan's Hitachi says it has developed a new elevator system in which six to eight cars can circulate on a single loop, sharing the space conventionally used by two.
In the new system, each car moves sideways after reaching the top floor and then descends on the loop before shifting sideways again at the bottom to move up, Hitachi said in a statement.
"The new system can save space and reduce passenger waiting time by transporting more than double the number of people compared to a conventional elevator system," it said Wednesday.