NYC’s Subway System To Test Platform Safety Barriers

Gothamist reports:

The MTA will begin constructing protective doors at three subway station platforms “in the coming months,” agency spokesperson Aaron Donovan told Gothamist on Sunday.

The protective barriers are part of a pilot program meant to stop riders from falling — or being pushed — onto the train tracks. The program, which was announced last year, comes in response to several high-profile incidents, including one resulting in the death of Michelle Go, who was shoved onto the Times Square subway tracks last year.

The protective platform doors are set to be installed at the Times Square 7 train, the Third Avenue L train and the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue E train stop. The Platform Screen Door Pilot Installation program is estimated to cost more than $100 million, according to one report.

Read the full article. Such protective barriers already exist at NYC’s AirTrain stations, as seen below. The MTA has said that station and car size irregularities make it unlikely for barriers to be feasible system-wide.