North America is FINALLY getting with the times!
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- Опубліковано 2 чер 2023
- Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/rmtransit-no...
Decades after platform screen doors started being introduced in systems across the world, Toronto is finally retrofitting them in, and I am extremely excited!
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Ever wondered why your city's transit just doesn't seem quite up to snuff? RMTransit is here to answer that, and help you open your eyes to all of the different public transportation systems around the world!
Reece (the RM in RMTransit) is an urbanist and public transport critic residing in Toronto, Canada, with the goal of helping the world become more connected through metros, trams, buses, high-speed trains, and all other transport modes.
Platform screen doors should be a norm in developed countries. After all, it can reduce a lot of unnecessary incidents and accidents (among other reasons). Glad to see such doors being installed in North America!!
Platform doors are excellent for safety. Someone died at my local station about a decade ago because they slipped and feel between the train and the platform. You think it could never happen to you, but it could.
You know it's a celebratory day when Reece dances during the intro
North America has been with the times when it comes to platform screen doors for a very long time. It's just that we decided that these should only exist in airport transit and nowhere else.
Fun fact, Paris has also installed platform screen doors on lines 4 and 13, so it's totally possible to retrofit. Line 1 isn't just a one time effort
I was in New York years ago when a pusher for no reason threw someone into the line. I was at that station 30 mins before it happened & it always terrified me & annoyed me New York doesn’t make more of an effort to get them. But since following RM transit, I’ve a deeper understanding of them
There was even a time back in 2022 when Korea received huge amounts of rain, the screen doors of the station kept water out of the tracks, allowing trains to pass through the station and continue service.
What happens when the screen doors turn my child gay?
In the same week this video came out, a man in Boston died in an MBTA station from an incident that could have easily been avoided with screen doors. The amount of people saying there was nothing that could be done to prevent such a thing from happening was frustrating.
If you're building a new line or making major renovations to a station and your construction costs are cheap I can understand PSDs. But there's absolutely a point where you have to question whether you should spend that money to actually help people struggling with mental health issues, especially in countries where mental healthcare isn't universal or easily accessible like Canada. PSDs are basically saying "go kill yourself somewhere else."
One of scariest stories my Dad ever told me was when he was in the NYC subway waiting for his train and some sketchy dude came up behind him and shoved him. He was trying to push him into the tracks, but he failed. When my Dad looked back at him, the guy just started at him and ran away. So yes, platform screen doors should be a default feature of every every rail stop. They'll prevent a lot of murders and suicides.
I'm opening Honolulu's fully-automated light metro June 30. Platform screen gates, no full-height doors, but get excited, Reece!
Speaking as a Singaporean here. The platform doors for the underground stations enable air-conditioning, which I will always be thankful for.
Singapore had platform screen doors for our MRT system at underground stations since the very beginning; initially they were used more for ventilation control (achieving atmospheric separation between the tunnels and passenger areas in stations, reducing air-conditioning costs in stations). However, after a spate of mostly suicides and some accidents and deliberate malicious incidents, the authorities decided to have half-height ones installed on above-ground stations as well for their safety aspects, and since then incidents of suicides or deliberate trespass have plummeted. With platform screen doors, even if someone were to try and climb over or crash through them, it would more likely than not slow down the person and give bystanders more time to raise the alarm, giving railway staff time to shut the railway down and stop incoming trains from entering.
In Singapore, there are actually markings on the floor in front of the doors showing you where to queue up and what areas to leave clear for disembarking passengers. As far as I can tell, people actually pay attention to them.
the queueing point is such an important thing to me. I lived in Tokyo before and now I live in Zurich. in Tokyo, people could queue up in an orderly manner because you know where the doors will be (even in stations without gates). in Zurich, you just kind of stand somewhere on the platform until the train arrives when everyone just kinda hurries to make it to a door first.
Worth mentioning: The NYC subway is going to start a pilot program adding screen doors in 3 stations (Times Square on the 7, 3rd Ave on the L, and Sutphin/Archer on the E).
I get the benefit of platform screen doors, but I can already see why they won't catch on soon in the US:
Hawaii's HART also has screen doors and its opening within a month.
I live in Berlin and I always wonder why there is no station with platform screen doors, not even on the latest additions to the network, while there are accidents quite regularly and platform screen doors would prevent them easily.