Traffic & Transit
Back Doors Of Newer Light Rail Cars to Remain Closed
The change comes after a woman was dragged and thrown onto the tracks at a station earlier this month.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced on
Tuesday it will take immediate measures to address safety concerns on newer light-rail vehicles after one dragged a woman earlier this month, causing her to fall on the tracks.
The woman was dragged and fell after she got her hand stuck in a closing door of an N-Judah vehicle at the city's Embarcadero station.
Surveillance video captured the dragging and fall.
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In response, Ed Reiskin, SFMTA's director of transportation, said the back doors of the newer vehicles will now be kept closed so that train operators can focus on seeing the boarding passengers closest to them.
Also, Reiskin said the agency is reminding operators to actively monitor the area around the train before departing.
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Additionally, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, a division of the SFMTA, will begin deploying more ambassadors at Muni stations during peak times to caution riders against forcing train doors open.
According to Muni, broken doors account for nearly a third of Muni vehicle-related delays on the older light-rail fleet.
Muni officials decided on the new safety measures after conducting additional tests on the doors of the newer cars on Monday, Reiskin said.
Muni officials found that the single-pane doors at the front and back of the newer models weren't as sensitive as they should be when closing.
Last week, Muni officials said crews were in the process of installing new sensors for vehicle doors. The process was underway before the woman was dragged, according to Muni.
The agency first began rolling out 64 new redesigned light-rail vehicles in the summer of 2017.
— Bay City News
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