Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
How To Stop Subway Accidents? Stop Trains <em>Before</em> Stations
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 14, 2011
Modified Feb 14, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 14, 2011
Modified Feb 14, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
With the latest rash of subway accidents, ideas on how to make platforms safer for straphangers are all the rage. Earlier this month came word that the MTA was mulling the idea of installing sliding doors in stations, but why stop there? District 65 Assemblyman Marcos Crespo thinks we should have trains come to a full stop before entering stations. Seriously. Don't worry, we thought it was a joke when we first read it too.
And yet when we caught up with Crespo on the phone he told us the proposal was totally serious. "Over the last three years there have been an average of 60 deaths and hundreds of injuries because of trains," he said. "I've taken the subway, I know how they operate. They come into stations full speed and I'm concerned about that."
The idea Crespo is proposing is to have trains come to a full stop before entering a station at a much slower speed (like 5 MPH). According to an engineer the News found, this idea would slow trains down by about minute per station. And what most New Yorkers really want is an even slower mass transit system, right?
It all comes down to money though. Crespo makes the valid point that the MTA is spending millions each year dealing with accidents, and "with the capital and economic situation we are in, installing those sliding panels [to prevent accidents] is going to be very hard."
Though Crespo started his brief conversation with us by telling us the idea was real, he backtracked a little a few moments later. "This is a conversation starter," he said. "If coming to a full stop is too much, I'm willing to address the issue."
Which is good, since while there is a serious discussion to be had about preventing subway accidents (share your ideas in the comments), bringing the subway to a standstill is probably not the best solution.
Tagged
Full Stop
Marcos Crespo
MTA
sliding doors
subway
subway accidents
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .