Monday, February 21, 2011

Safety First: Is the T Safe Enough?

As if poor service is not enough, it is unfortunate to hear the news of another MBTA fatal accident on February 20, 2011 in the Central Square stop, less than three months from the recent accident that occurred just this past November 30, 2010 in the Kendall Square stop. Both accidents occurred coincidentally on the Red Line.




Source: www.boston.com by Steve Miller, Globe Correspondent


Personally, I have always been fearful of the often crowded platforms at the major interchange of Park Street. It seems to be all too easy for some tourist, who is not aware of his or her surroundings in the midst of friends, to turn suddenly and knock a passerby off the narrow platform on to the tracks below. It's almost worth the investment in what could potentially be insurance payout money to put up barriers or guards to protect the general public, similar to what Beijing's subway and Hong Kong's MTR did by separating the platform from the tracks with glass walls to counter suicides and accidents. However, we are also talking about an automated system which aligns the subway doors perfectly as opposed to MBTA's archaic train system.


Source: www.travelpod.com



Which begs the question:  do you think the T is safe enough?

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