What's Up With the Last Door on a Train??

Hey, as a frequent NEC rider I am always puzzled and annoyed by the failure of the last door on the train or both doors on the last car of a train to open at high level platform stops.

When the train stops and the last car is open, its a crap shoot if the end door opens and more often than not I am left standing at tne end of the train waiting to get in while a flood of people get in one car up and take up all the remaining seats. Today I was comming into NYP from ALB and everyone was lined up to get out the last door of the train and wouldn't you know it it didn't open. Fortunately a savy female rider was there and instructed the man next to the door to use the emergency handle to crack it open and we were able to escape onto the platform.

The fact that non-railfan riders feel comfortable with the emergency handle in the last car shows that this funky last door thing is a common problem. Can anyone explain why the last door fails to open to often? Is it a mechanical issue or a crew issue? If the door isn't working should it be brought to the attention of the crew?

My understanding is that as many platforms (at least on the Empire Service) are not much longer than the trains they serve, they are a bit concerned with the last door (or in some cases car) not making the end of the platform.

So, rather than risk having a passenger step out of the door onto a non-existant platform, they simply inhibit the door(s) from opening.

Most of my observations are from the NEC...the Empire line incident just prompted me to post.

Some trains are PUSH PULL so last car might be a control or cab car. As such, many crews are loath to allow passenger access for entry or exit. Other times long trains don't fit on the platform. And still other times the number and placement of crew members will determine which doors are opened and, thus, manned. I know. You say that it varies from station to station. Sometimes a crewmember works a group of cars, say three. He will board passengers from the rear of the three and before the next station stop work forward to the furthest toward the headend where he will open that car instead of three back. There are a variety of reasons.

on a similar note

can anyone explain why people feel the need to stand for the last XX miles of their journey before the train stops?

i always find it amusing on the way to NYP that people get up and stand when the train enters the tunnel

it's not like it's a subway and you need to hop out before the doors shut

odd human nature i guess

nittany4 wrote:on a similar note

can anyone explain why people feel the need to stand for the last XX miles of their journey before the train stops?

i always find it amusing on the way to NYP that people get up and stand when the train enters the tunnel

it's not like it's a subway and you need to hop out before the doors shut

odd human nature i guess

People would probably like to get where they're going as soon as possible, and might not want to or might not have time to smell the ______(put random train smell in blank). Same reason people get in a line sooner rather than later.

back in the glory days of railroading did people do this?

do people do it in other countries where life is not in such a hurry as it is in the corridor?

imo there's no reason people should be standing on a moving intercity train

Many reasons: gotta be first up or down the stairs to mezzanine, gotta catch another train or or bus or hail a taxi, needs a redcap, needs to be to work on time today, toilets didn't work on the train, was supposed to be on the last train, always gotta be first. And there are as many more as there are people getting off any train.

FWIW, when I was stationed in Europe in the 80s, most DB trains, at most stations, had a ONE MINUTE dwell time at a station. You needed to be out of your compartment (2d or first class 6 man compartments) and at the door, ready to go.

henry6 wrote:Many reasons: gotta be first up or down the stairs to mezzanine, gotta catch another train or or bus or hail a taxi, needs a redcap, needs to be to work on time today, toilets didn't work on the train, was supposed to be on the last train, always gotta be first. And there are as many more as there are people getting off any train.

always gotta be first

i'm sure that about sums it up

good thing you can't do the same on an airplane taxiing

Gilbert B Norman wrote:I wonder if there is a passenger safety factor to be considered.

Folks, as you get older, you experience a sense of balance deterioriation (there is a medical term for such but darned if I know it). An affected passenger could alight a train on a high level platform from an open rear vestibule, become disoriented, and take a 4' spill to the tracks. Alighting from the forward vestibule of that same rear car would mean the disoriented passenger would simply fall on the side of that car with far less, if any, injury.

from my experinece even teenagers can get tossed around while in the aisle (not so much going into NYP, but coming into 30th Street there are a few curves, especially since some people are standing from North Philadelphia!)

and it seems to get longer each time I ride, pretty soon people will be gathering their bags and standing at Trenton... in both directions!!

People may also want to get off the train sooner rather than later, especially, if they've been there for a while. Also, nobody likes having to wait for other people to get out before they get out. They may feel they have to get up with the other people to make sure the train doesn't leave without them, but then they're standing in line, which can be agrivating being cramped when you think the line should be moving quickly.

And in today's world some people are just in a hurry.

it's not like it's a subway and you need to hop out before the doors shut

suprise suprise, some people don't know this, and many in fact probably do not know it, or just want to be on the safe side.

well being on the SAFE side was one of my points

it's much safer to stay in your seat until the train stops instead of holding onto other people's seat backs and swaying in the aisles juggling backpacks and briefcases

i seem to have struck a nerve with some closet trenton standers

my apologies

Nothing closeted about it at all. Frankly, when riding from New York City to Philadelphia in the afternoon, by the time the train reaches N. Philadelphia I'm tired of sitting. Especially if I had the misfortune to choose a seat near some non stop cell phone yappers.

Also, if you get stuck behind some stragglers who are taking their sweet old time collecting their bags, by the time you get upstairs to the taxi stand you'll find yourself at the end of a long line with a lengthy wait.

In the morning in the QUIET CAR I'll sleep all the way into the station.