MBTA Seeks Vendor Input For Possible Platform Screen Door Pilot Program

The MBTA is investigating the possibility of installing new platform screen door systems at some of its busiest stations, according to bid documents that the agency released last week.

In a “request for information” (RFI), the T announced that they are “interested in piloting a system to enhance passenger safety on raised rapid transit platforms” with platform screen door systems “that are capable of safely, reliably, and effectively screening transit passengers from unintentionally entering the pit area of station platforms when trains are not physically present at the station.”

Platform screen door systems are increasingly common on new subway lines around the world, and some agencies are also adding them in renovations of older stations and lines.

They essentially introduce a glass wall between the boarding platforms and train tracks, with sliding doors that align with train doors and open only when a train is docked in the station.

You can find platform screen door systems in use on New York City’s AirTrain system (pictured above) and on Montreal’s new driverless REM light-rail line.

Jarred Johnson, the former executive director of TransitMatters, told StreetsblogMASS that they’re primarily a safety feature, to prevent people from falling from the platform onto active tracks and the third wheel.

But he noted that they have several other benefits as well.

“They can also prevent delays by keeping passengers from holding doors open, and even allow trains to enter the station faster,” Johnson said. “Full-height doors (can) keep trash off the tracks, preventing fires, and allow for climate control” in stations, some of which currently experience unbearable heat in the summer months.

Johnson noted that some agencies – like New York’s MTA – opt instead to install half-height barriers, which resemble fences along the edge of the platform.

Those don’t offer the same climate-control benefits, but he said that they’re generally “more cost-effective, and easier to install.”

At this point, the MBTA is only looking for information from possible vendors.

“If the MBTA determines that a pilot program is warranted, it may issue an RFP (request for proposals), at its discretion, in which one or more available screen door systems would be installed at MBTA station(s),” according to the T’s procurement documents.

An MBTA spokesperson told StreetsblogMASS that the T’s current capital budget does not include any funding for a platform screen door pilot program.

The bid documents also suggest that the T would prioritize its most crowded stations for platform screen door systems.

The RFI package specifically mentions the Downtown Crossing station complex and the Andrew Red Line station, where a woman narrowly escaped injury after climbing onto the tracks earlier this year.