During a transit and bus committee meeting at the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) headquarters here yesterday, board members discussed the possibility of installing such barriers to curb the number of subway train fatalities.
The discussion came in the wake of two incidents last year in which people were pushed onto the tracks and fatally struck by trains.
On December 6, Ki-Suck Han, 58, was pushed onto the tracks in a subway station near Times Square by a 30-year-old homeless man.
On December 29, a 31-year-old woman was charged with second-degree murder as a hate crime for pushing 46-year old Indian, Sunando Sen onto the tracks at a subway station in Queens.
In 2012, there were 141 subway incidents in which a person came into contact with a train, 55 of which were fatal; that was slightly more than the average of 135 accidents per year, vice president of system safety at the MTA Cheryl Kennedy was quoted as saying by CNN.
Thirty-three of the 141 were alleged or attempted suicides, 54 occurred while the victim was standing on the platform, and three occurred when riders fell between the cars, she said.
The installation of platform doors in New York's subways could potentially end incidents in which customers are pushed or accidentally fall or climb down intentionally to retrieve dropped items. It could also increase security by limiting unauthorised track access, resulting in less vandalism and litter, according to the MTA.
However, such an installation would prove costly and complicated.
"When the system was designed over 110 years ago, it didn't plan for that," said Thomas F. Prendergast, president of MTA New York City Transit. "It's hard to incorporate into the system now."
Investigations into the feasibility of installing subway platform doors included the examination of public transportation systems in London, Paris, Seoul, Tokyo and other international cities, the report said.
The preliminary conclusion was that the age and diversity of New York's 468 subway stations would require major changes to their structures and electrical systems.
