MTA testing use of barriers to keep subway riders off tracks

The MTA has begun installing barriers inside select subway stations as part of a pilot program to test their effectiveness at keeping riders on platforms and off tracks.

Short stretches of metal fencing are now staggered along the platforms at the 191st Street 1 station, on both the uptown and downtown sides.

The 191st Street stop is the first of four stations to have the new barriers. They will also be installed at the West 8th Street/Aquarium F and Q station, the Clark Street 2 and 3 station, and one more still to be determined, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

More than 1,000 people are injured each year on the city’s subway tracks, and dozens are killed: a few are pushed, some die by suicide, some trip or fall after fainting, according to the MTA.

The MTA created a Track Trespassing Task Force three years ago to study the problem of “track intrusion.” Its analysis of incidents from 2019 to 2021 found “it is rare for someone to be pushed onto the tracks.”

Instead, the MTA reported, “It is more common for someone to end up on the tracks because they dropped their phone and tried to retrieve it, or because they are accessing a homeless encampment.” Some are intoxicated, some have mental illnesses and some are attempting suicide, according to the report.

Robert Kelley, vice president for stations at Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents 42,000 personnel of MTA subways, buses and other modes in the metropolitan area, praised the news but wanted more information.

“Anything that provides safety is very important and essential to what we do on a daily basis, no question about it, right?” Kelley told Newsday on Sunday. 

Said Daniel Pearlstein, policy and communications director of the Riders Alliance group, when asked about the barriers: “It certainly makes it easier for people to stand closer to the edge of the platform — as New Yorkers are accustomed to do — with less risk of winding up on the tracks, whether it’s falling or being pushed.”

Describing the barriers as a good "low-tech first step," Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said, "We applaud the ingenuity of the subways team for designing these barriers to help prevent track intrusions and keep people on platforms safer.” 

The MTA’s figures show that of the 88 people who died on the city’s subway tracks in 2022, 15% tripped or fell after suffering a medical emergency, and suicides accounted for less than 10%. Three people were pushed.

Other measures the MTA has deployed to reduce injuries and fatalities on the tracks include tactile surfaces that warn riders that they are approaching the platform edge, suicide-prevention messaging and laser detection systems in a handful of stations that warn MTA security if someone enters the tracks.

The report of the Track Trespassing Task Force, issued in May 2022, recommended a range of prevention measures, including support for the homeless and mentally ill and platform screen doors — which are common on airport trams — but does not mention barriers of the sort that have been installed at 191st Street.

The barriers are a low-cost, practical measure that can be tested while the MTA looks into more extensive and costly strategies, according to Aaron Donovan, an MTA spokesperson.

With Matthew Chayes and Darwin Yanes