No Doors Between Subway Cars? M.T.A. May Consider New Model
For years, the NYC subway line has been running trains with the same design. The trains would have one cart, attached to the other with a closed door, where one may travel through to reach the other side. If there are many people on the train, someone is demonstrating their skill at break dancing using the metal poles, as is common the E train between Roosevelt and Forest Hills 71st avenue, there is no salvation, no escape for the passengers, without receiving a stiff fine, until they reach the next stop.
This may be changing the near future. Transit authorities have proposed a plan where these trains will have an open layout, much like the recently introduced buses, with accordion style features, an example is the q44 running from Jamaica to Flushing. This would allow passengers to board the train, and move freely within, without being confined to one portion of the train. It will potentially increase the amount of passengers able to board the trains, reduce the necessary time at the station waiting for boarding passengers, and become a more efficient system of transportation.
There are repercussions potentially, as is with any new plan to change something many decades old. This design may not work out as intended and actually hinder the transportation system, which would cause a massive slowing down of the system, and if it fails, millions people will not be able to reach their destination and would cause mass exasperation. It also impairs the ability to isolate a certain car for cleaning after a rather full night of alcohol consumption, along with the ability to isolate other issues to the cart, where the new plan would make it all one giant room, meaning little to no ability to do this. This plan has to be thoroughly looked into, and if they, all those who deal with this area, find it a plausible and beneficial idea, they will implement it in the next ten to twenty years on estimate.
This idea seems like it would be a consideration in respect to what the future of the transit system will be. It has many redeeming qualities, as it makes the system more efficient in its dealings, yet also causes many issues which may make a significant impact on whether this plan will be taken or rejected.
~ Eric Silva