What NYC subway conductors must check before a train leaves the platform
A man's death at the Utica Avenue A train station has drawn new attention to the conductor's window check. Here is what the MTA manual requires at every stop.
A 57-year-old man was killed Monday evening at the Utica Avenue A train station in Brooklyn. The case has drawn new attention to a safety check that goes back decades: a conductor leaning out of the cab window to scan the platform.
Yaw Boahene was getting off the A train during the evening rush when he got caught on a car. Police said the 410-ton train pulled him along the platform. Transit officials said he was using a cane and was unsteady as he stepped out. How he became snagged is still under investigation. Our earlier story covers the Utica Avenue death.
MTA conductor rules at every subway stop
The routine is laid out in the 2020 edition of the MTA’s conductor training manual. A conductor may not open the doors until the train has come to a full stop and careful observation confirms that every door lines up with the platform. Once the doors open, the conductor leans out of the window and looks both ways.
At each stop, the doors must stay all the way open for a minimum of 10 seconds. Red indicator lights at the ends of the cars tell the conductor whether every door has closed. After the train pulls out, the conductor keeps their head slightly out of the window for the first 75 feet, watching for anyone or anything being dragged, and can pull an emergency brake if needed. According to the manual, failing to follow these steps is by itself grounds for misconduct and incompetence charges.
A full subway train stretches 600 feet and conductors ride in the middle, so each one has to watch a long section of platform in both directions.
What the MTA said after the Utica Avenue death
At Wednesday’s monthly MTA board meeting, agency leaders pointed out that door sensors keep a train from moving unless its doors are fully closed. Some platforms now also have metal barriers meant to stop riders from falling onto the tracks.
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow would not say whether the investigation had found that the conductor on Boahene’s train complied with the rules. “The conductor has the responsibility of observing the platform,” he said.
Deaths of this kind are uncommon. In an earlier case in 2022, Joe Ancona, 20, was killed on a 1 train at Columbus Circle. He worked on the Metropolitan Opera’s stage crew. Police said his bag or clothing had become caught on the train.
Quick answers
What must a subway conductor check before a train leaves?
The conductor leans out of the cab window to look both ways, keeps the doors open for at least 10 seconds and watches the platform for the first 75 feet after the train starts moving.
Can a subway train move with a door open?
MTA leaders say door sensors keep a train from moving unless its doors are fully closed.
Did the conductor follow the rules in the Utica Avenue death?
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow would not say whether the investigation had found that the conductor complied.
