MTA board considers pilot program to install subway platform doors
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Amid a string of high profile subway shovings and other crimes, the MTA on Thursday proposed to its board a pilot program looking into the possibility of installing the platform doors at three stations.
If approved, construction on the doors could begin next year and be completed by 2024.
Thirty people were shoved on the tracks in 2021, and kast month, Michelle Go was murdered that way in Times Square.
MTA officials said they know of 1,267 reported track intrusions last year, with many more unreported.
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The "vast majority are voluntary intrusions," MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer.
That includes things like homeless people walking the tracks, and MTA believes around 350 people are currently living in the subway system.
They have found 29 homeless encampments in tunnels and 89 at stations, which contribute to track trespassing.
"We want to deal with this problem and all of its complexity," MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said. "There are people who have mental illness who are walking into the tunnels. So we have to do something."
The agency doesn't see any correlation between pandemic ridership and more people on the tracks, and in fact, it appears most intrusions are happening at the busier stations.
Officials say track trespassing numbers have been relatively similar in years before the pandemic.
"Installing subway platform doors where possible is a common-sense step we can take towards making the subways safer," Mayor Eric Adams said. "I applaud the MTA for testing this idea, and my administration will work in partnership with them to evaluate their effectiveness and expand where appropriate."
Besides the barriers, the MTA is also looking at expanding its use of track intrusion detection systems, but it still has to figure out how to utilize them without creating inadvertent train delays.
Officials also said roughly 25% of subway train collisions were suicides or attempted suicides last year.
"The average incident last year resulted in a 29-minute delays," Torres-Springer said.
The MTA lost $100 million in revenue in January due to omicron.
Platform doors have been in use on the AirTrain to JFK since it was built nearly 20 years ago. They open and close only when the train is in the station, preventing anyone from accidentally or deliberately landing on the tracks.
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The pilot program would cover three lines at three different stations: The 7 at Times Square, the L on Third Avenue, and the E train stop at Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue at Jamaica Station.
The MTA said it will be nearly impossible to install the doors at many New York City stations because of the length of the platforms, the curves, and many other reasons.
Only one-fourth of them could accommodate platform doors.
Some riders say they'll feel safer, but the cost is estimated at more than $30 million per station.
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