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Personally I wouldn't trust an elevator door to reopen if it's less than about 40 cm's apart.

Elevator doors have a flap between the doors that acts as a safety system. If anyone or anything is in between the doors, the flap will contact it, and will cause the doors to reopen.

Subway and GO Train doors are a lot less capable of reopening - they do not spot things blocking their space (as elevator doors do) and their alarm only trips when the door has fully closed and the sensors detect an abnormal fit of the door edges. The whole cycle of alarm-stop-reopen-wait-close again takes longer and creates further pauses before the train can start moving.

The TR subway cars use both sensors in their door edges, and systems that take current/amperage readings on the motors. Should either system detect a blockage, the door will stop closing.

This is pretty standard around most of the transit industry now.

If someone forcibly pries open the doors, sure, they will stop closing - but that's real dirtbag behaviour which is very likely to disable the door, causing a delay to several hundred people. If you are one of those people who do that, well, I'm judging. Most adults do know better. (PS - I believe it's actually an offense that one can be ticketed for if caught).

- Paul.

The latest trend in the transit world is to design door systems so that the door can not be forced back open once it starts closing - the system will stop the closing of the door, but not reopen it. This helps prevent people holding the door as now doing so won't necessarily get them into the vehicle.

Dan
 
I don’t understand how it’s inherently unsafe to stick your hand in a door. I and many other passengers do it all the time in elevator doors. Metrolinx has no control over passenger perceptions of safety at the doors unless it embarks on a campaign to remove safety protections from all elevators in the province. Even then, visitors from elsewhere will continue to put their hands in.

Passengers who act reasonably are entitled to safety, even if it annoys us.

Shoving your hand in an elevator door, and delaying it's movement. Might impact a few thousand people in the given building. However 1) there are usually other elevators in the building for people to use and 2) getting your hand/arm/leg stuck in the door might result in damage to that limb should the car move and the limb be partially in the moving car.

On a GO Train or subway train. Delaying the train affects not just the ~1000 people on the train but also delays all the trains downstream and if you happen to case an incident there is usually no alternative on that line for other riders to use and if you do get stuck suddenly to the outside of a moving train the possible injury is far greater, including death.

Yes both have safety systems designed to prevent injury but you wouldn't shove your finger in a live electrical socket despite it having a safety system (breaker) in place to prevent injury. Or more analogous, wouldn't try to walk under a garage door in the process of closing despite it having sensors to prevent closing on you.
 
Could you link to these communications? I have never seen one from either company, and I regularly rode the TTC for years.

It is unreasonable to expect the average passenger, who has never had to pass a safety training course, should have a detailed understanding of how doors work, and how they differ between different installations (bus/streetcar/subway/commuter train/elevator).

The doors in an elevator or on a streetcar will re-open if you put your hand over a sensor. Passengers whose travel history consists entirely of elevators and streetcar could reasonably believe that all doors are like that, because their experience tells them it’s safe to put their hand in the door. It is unreasonable to expect them to understand the safety risks on a mode they rarely use.

  • Do not try to force open the car doors. You could get hurt and you could damage the door mechanism (which may prevent the train from proceeding).
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I am not in favour of switching to a remote sensing system that allows people to delay or pause the basic close-and-go function. The environment is different in terms of weather, dirt and grime, and potential for spurious objects to cause false operation. As well, ,the desired function is detecting “pinned” objects rather clearing the path for anyone approaching.
I think I should have been more clear when describing the system. In PSDs (globally), and on trams & trains in German-speaking countries, the sensitive edge is augmented with light barriers (of the type used in elevators) used to detect pinned objects after the door is fully closed (if you stick your hand in while closing, it will still close on you, but the vehicle won't be able to move). The problem with relying on a sensitive edge on it's own is that they regularly fail to detect flexible objects (though they are still good for regular crush protection).

So long as the door operator adheres to the exact schedule, as I believe GO staff generally do, then the door chimes and lights have to preempt the individual’s right to board. (That premise breaks down late at night after big events downtown, I will admit - GO needs to move more people sooner at times)
It is true that the door alarm & lights indicate that the passenger no longer has a right to board. If a passenger ignores them, the company still has an obligation to keep them safe if they get trapped in the door.

Passengers sometimes get trapped through no fault of their own (link).

 
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I liked the speedy door operation of the old M1 and H6 subway cars.


No one would charge these doors! And if they did, they'd learn REAL quick not to do that a second time.

The H4s were horrible. I can't count how many bruises I got from them.
 
Ok, so I note that we are all collectively running a tad off topic for the GO service thread. That said, I can't resist sneaking in something for the younger set.

Until 1995, the TTC didn't have a door chime............conductors blew a whistle. Here's a video from the last train where that happened:

 
While I find this whole door debate entertaining, is it really an issue, and/or has anyone confirmed this is why the 1 minute rule is being implemented?
 
While I find this whole door debate entertaining, is it really an issue, and/or has anyone confirmed this is why the 1 minute rule is being implemented?
The reason it’s done at many other railways is that it reduces variability in departure times (and therefore reduces the amount of buffer time required in station areas).
 

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