Eights to the Gate

A slogan to remind Metro train operators in Washington, D.C., to berth their eight-car trains in the correct place.

Some D.C. Metro drivers are opening the doors of their trains in the wrong place thereby putting passengers at risk of falling on to the tracks, Lena H. Sun reported for The Washington Times.

According to Sun, last year’s attempt to reduce congestion by introducing more eight-car trains may be to blame:

Virtually all improper door incidents occur because operators forget they are in an eight-car train, officials said, and don’t pull the trains all the way to the front of the platform. Instead, they are berthing them as if they were six cars long, with the end cars no longer abutting the platform. …

To address the problem, officials said, Metro has increased operator training, installed more signs on station platforms and inside train consoles, and coined a slogan to remind operators of eight-car trains to berth them at the end platform gate: “Eights to the gate.”

In 2008, there were 42 door incidents involving eight-car trains; and 22 in the first five months of 2009. The union that represents the train operators argues that the solution is to have all trains stop in the same place – at the end of the platform. According to Sun, this is standard practice during special events, such as sports fixtures, but she reported, “officials have been reluctant to make that the policy during regular service, lest it inconvenience riders accustomed to boarding at specific spots.”