why escalators on the London underground have people stand on the right walk in the left despite convention in the country being that you typically would overtake on the right?

Question

As a Brit I must admit this has me stumped. For doing things like driving, walking up stairs and various other things it is convention to keep left and allow other people moving fast to pass on the right yet on the underground it is the opposite. There are signs which tell you to stand right, allowing people to walk on the left.

Additionally, the direction of the escalators are the ‘correct’ way round according to convention, with direction of the escalator you would need to take approaching them being on the left.

In:

Answer 1

There’s a very simple explanation for that. Most people are right handed and as it is recommended to always hold the handrail when using the escalator, it is logical to stand on the right side so you can hold on with your right hand. This stems from the early days when escalators weren’t as smooth as now and were prone to jerking and sudden stops.