Doors open - no platform

0:00 from Bridgeport to GCT. Sitting in first car of train.
9 cars of older MU's. Making 0:00 stop at East Norwalk. First 5 off platform. Train stops with head end past station. All doors open. Whoops.

Holly shit 5 years ago that was daily occurence with the ACMU's, which ran entire trip with all doors open, and no one got killed or was stupid enough to walk off.
are Commuters really getting dumber by the minute ??

Mod Note: Specifics & times redacted to not incriminate the crew.

Yes commuters are getting dumber with technology. Every one has their face buried in an ipad or iphone. No one pays attention to the surroundings any more when walking, platforming, etc.

I wholeheartedly agree. When I was a kid NJT had an open door policy on the NEC (only high platforms west of Newark were Linden, Rahway and I believe Trenton). Coming west from Newark on a Arrow local i often stood in the vestibule next to the open door until North Elizabeth or Elizabeth. No one fell out. We're too numb and disconnected these days.

Saugatuck wrote:0:00 from Bridgeport to GCT. Sitting in first car of train.
9 cars of older MU's. Making 0:00 stop at East Norwalk. First 5 off platform. Train stops with head end past station. All doors open. Whoops.

I remember seeing something similar there several years ago. The doors opened up and you had a clear view of the street below!

And with regards to commuters not paying attention to their surroundings: NO ONE should have the door their standing in front of open up when there isn't a platform, especially when the train is stopped on a bridge. That can be incredibly dangerous even when everyone IS paying attention.

cobra30689 wrote:I wholeheartedly agree. When I was a kid NJT had an open door policy on the NEC (only high platforms west of Newark were Linden, Rahway and I believe Trenton). Coming west from Newark on a Arrow local i often stood in the vestibule next to the open door until North Elizabeth or Elizabeth. No one fell out. We're too numb and disconnected these days.

There's a difference there. The door was already open so it was not exactly a surprise to those on board. You either knew to stay away from it or to be very careful when standing there. When the door is closed and not at the platform you should expect it to stay closed.

Of course I can't imagine such a policy ever happening nowadays, even on say Shore Line East which has an all manual door fleet.

Wait a sec, where did the OP mention anything about anyone getting hurt, inattentively derping to the wrong side of the train, etc, as opposed to just mentioning what he saw with the doors? I can't help but feel like some in this thread are jumping to conclusions reading things that are not there, or I need to get my glasses checked... >_<

cobra30689 wrote:I wholeheartedly agree. When I was a kid NJT had an open door policy on the NEC (only high platforms west of Newark were Linden, Rahway and I believe Trenton). Coming west from Newark on a Arrow local i often stood in the vestibule next to the open door until North Elizabeth or Elizabeth. No one fell out. We're too numb and disconnected these days.

Cobra: The high-level platform stations that were on what now is NJT's NEC and North Jersey Coast Lines W of NWK previous to 1983 were located at Rahway,Metropark,Metuchen,Trenton,Princeton and on the NJCL Avenel and Woodbridge had high-level platforms...
All other NEC stations had high-level platforms built by NJT by the end of the 80s...(back to topic)

I agree that people are sometime too "disconnected" today and I have my own LIRR memory: One day (80s) we stopped at Forest Hills going toward NYP (4 car platform) and the crew opened cars that were off the platform - the one I was in was on a bridge and that would have been a nasty fall...Crews today check carefully to be sure that "toggle" is thrown to keep things like this from happening...MNCR probably has a similar policy concerning doors opening on cars that are "off the platform"...

MACTRAXX

No door is ever supposed to open off that platform without being protected. That is the official policy. Unfortunately no one is perfect and even train crews make mistakes.

NH2060 wrote:

cobra30689 wrote:I wholeheartedly agree. When I was a kid NJT had an open door policy on the NEC (only high platforms west of Newark were Linden, Rahway and I believe Trenton). Coming west from Newark on a Arrow local i often stood in the vestibule next to the open door until North Elizabeth or Elizabeth. No one fell out. We're too numb and disconnected these days.

There's a difference there. The door was already open so it was not exactly a surprise to those on board. You either knew to stay away from it or to be very careful when standing there. When the door is closed and not at the platform you should expect it to stay closed.

Of course I can't imagine such a policy ever happening nowadays, even on say Shore Line East which has an all manual door fleet.

On Shore Line East, if it is nice out, the commuters reopen the doors as soon as the conductor has been through to collect the ticket. They sometimes will try to open the door to let someone on when the train is moving. There are even people who will ride half sticking out a door.

Are the trains too long for the platform? Was there an overshoot?

BandA wrote:Are the trains too long for the platform? Was there an overshoot?

East Norwalk is a short platform, only long enough for 4 cars. The mini bombs are about the only thing they run that could entirely fit.

Well, Metro North did announce that as part of their focus on the customer experience, they were going to adopt a new open door policy.

The ACMU doors were in a vestibule, so they were more protected than doors on the m-series. On SEPTA, they still leave doors open on Silverliner IVs, but conductors are usually standing there.

jackintosh11 wrote:The ACMU doors were in a vestibule, so they were more protected than doors on the m-series. On SEPTA, they still leave doors open on Silverliner IVs, but conductors are usually standing there.

And even that is VERY rare to see these days, especially after a conductor fell off of her train a few years ago.