Gothamist: Minding the Huge, Gaping Platform Gap

John Mason

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:12:44 -0500

I have personally jumped onto the platform from a moving train that was going too fast for me to run the same speed. I did this to avoid being punched by another student at the time. I fell and rolled along the platform and in between the carriages where there is a large "v" shaped opening (where the carriages are joined). The front of the carriage was shaped to around 45 degrees from the platform so the impact through me under the platform and I looked up to see the huge wheels doing there last few turns. I am 40 yrs old now and that happened when I was about 12 yrs old so it is highly possible for anyone to fall under the train and not be so lucky as I was.

Spike

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:23:52 -0500

Everyone is missing the point here. If someone bothers to check, they might find that the LIRR sometime back started using passenger cars that have a narrower profile than the older cars they replaced. The platforms were originally designed for the wider old cars that left a smaller gap. Now, LIRR may have saved money by buying the narrower cars and they may have saved money shipping them in because they were narrower - avoiding high/wide situations, but they have neglected to fix the resulting platform problem. The platforms only became a problem when the narrower cars appeared. Why didn't LIRR foresee the gap problem when the specifications for the narrower cars were made? Or did they only too late figure out they had made a mistake?

Mandi

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:44:36 -0500

I regularly take the LIRR from the Flatbush station in Brooklyn, and it's not unusual for the gap between the platform and the train to be about a foot wide. I've often wondered how many small children (or adults for that matter) have fallen through the gap -- it's absolutely absurd that the MTA doesn't take this into consideration and make it a safety priority!

Toby

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:33:32 -0500

Yes, the picture is the old LIRR logo, however the LIRR powers that be have not replaced it by the 10th Avenue entrance to the West Side Yard.

Adam

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:20:30 -0500

That picture has the LIRR's old logo.

timbncy

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:07:07 -0500

The MTA nailed pieces of wood onto subway platforms to cover gaps created by new subway cars - why couldn't LIRR do the same for their stations? Of course, the wood in the subways is now rotten and probably likely to give way if anyone ever steps on them, but that's a maintenance issue.

sad

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:50:28 -0500

really sad, tragic story. poor girl and poor family. however, if there is one thing we can learn from this horriffic accident, it is this: PAY ATTENTION PEOPLE! i cannot tell you how many times i have seen people not paying attention to their surroundings or what they are doing. including, but not limited to: sticking their arms in closing subway doors, running down the steps at the 34th street station at top speed into a crowd of people, jaywalking with their baby in a stroller across a 4 lane street, jaywalking in front of a bus that is rushing to beat the light, walking around holding an infant without a sling or carrier in a crush of people. and the most scary of all: people who push their baby strollers into traffic without even looking! i am not saying she was not paying attention, just that we all need to be more careful because accidents can, and do, happen!

Jeebus

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:43:38 -0500

They should charge the Smead family for the delays she caused when she was hit by the train. They had to shut down the line to remove her body, which caused many delays up and down the line! THAT is unacceptable.

mh

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:36:17 -0500

I hope that the Smead family receives a large compensation settlement for this "accident." In fact I hope they get the $100. that the LIRR would not refund to me when I submitted an un-used monthly rail ticket (within the same month.)

Kevin Walsh

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:24:19 -0500

The gaps are pretty bad at stations with curved platforms, like Murray Hill on the LIRR. In the subways, curved stations like 14th St and South Ferry alleviate this with gap fillers but not with the LIRR. Also, some LIRR platforms are badly maintained; a friend recently tripped in her high heels trying to board a train since the platform was badly paved. www.forgotten-ny.com

sarah_silverman

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:22:56 -0500

jen-are you saying 6" - 8" is too big?

Susi

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:19:01 -0500

Stepping of an NJ Transit line recently at Newark Airport, I was pushed by a girl rushing to run up the stairs. My foot slipped into the gap and I fell over with my leg stuck between the train and platform. I got some pretty serious bruises and caused a big pile-up of riders behind me. So no matter how much you "mind the gap," you can't control hasty, pushy people on a crowded platform.

Jen

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:08:59 -0500

I know that eight inches doesn't seem like enough for a person to fall through, but it's definitely enough for feet to get stuck (especially women, if they are wearing heels). And while the federal government doesn't have to regulate everything, I do think customer safety is a big enough issue for the MTA to monitor more carefully. I feel like I was at a subway station recently where the gap was bigger than usual. Also, I was on a NJ Transit train (haven't been on the LIRR in a while) two weeks ago, and the drop between the last step and the platform was substantial - easily over a foot - which made it difficult to get onto the platform. I had to hold onto the train's railing and jump over.

Toby

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:02:29 -0500

I think a lot of the accidents may have to do with people who don't ride the train or subway often or have had too much to drink. One of the things I learned when I was small was to "mind the gap" when exiting/entering a train or subway car. Perhaps they need some sort of automatic "gap fillers" like at the 14th Street–Union Square stop on the Lexington Avenue IRT. Finally the words "according to Wikipedia" should never be used in a serious article of any kind, unless you are talking about the problems with Wikipedia.

salty

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 14:57:08 -0500

I've witnessed a small child fall in between a train car and the platform when the (presumed) father and siblings relized they were on an express train and hurriedly exited to beat the closing doors. Fortunately the space was minimal and the child was stuck - as opposed to falling under the train. It's definitely possible. I've seen and been surprised by those large gaps at Flatbush. I can see how someone not used to getting on and off LIRR trains (as opposed to the subways) might make the mistake.

MT

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 14:51:28 -0500

I'm looking at a ruler. Can a whole person serious slip through 8"? I know girls can be petite and everything, but I'm having serious trouble putting this together.

Jeebus

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 14:48:38 -0500

Is it too hard to look before you step onto a train? You don’t need federal regulations for an issue that can be avoided with the least bit of common sense. But then again, we do live in NY…