Metropolitan Transportation Authority building New York City subway system's first inclined elevator

KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP/Getty Images An inclined elevator, such as the one used in the Eiffel Tower (pictured), is being built by the MTA at the end of the No. 7 line extension at West 34th St.

The MTA is building the subway system's first inclined elevator at the end of the No. 7 line extension at West 34th St.

Costing less to construct than a vertical elevator because it entails less excavation, the sloped lift is akin to the elevator that moves diagonally inside the pyramid-shaped “Luxor” hotel in Las Vegas.

At the “Luxor,” guests reach their rooms by riding in “inclinators” that travel up and down the inner surface of the pyramid at a 39-degree angle.

New York's subway "inclination" will feature a glass compartment — for up to 15 passengers — that moves along a 170-foot route at a 27-degree angle, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Capital Construction President Michael Horodniceanu said at an authority committee meeting.

Anthony DelMundo/New York Daily News The No. 7 line station and extension from Times Square to 34th St./11th Ave is expected to open in the fall or winter.

The No. 7 line station and extension from Times Square to 34th St./11th Ave is expected to open in the fall or winter. Most of the subway system is more than one century old, but the building of a new station provided an opportunity for the inclined elevator.

It entailed expanding a shaft needed for an escalator to the mezzanine, not a separate shaft or underground walkways, Horodniceanu said.

Incline elevators are also in use in the Washington D.C. and Dallas mass transit systems.