When the train rolls in at the 191st Street subway station in Washington Heights, riders will now have a little more protection.

MTA crews installed several yellow platform barriers there on Sunday, designed to protect people from falling onto or being pushed onto the tracks.

What You Need To Know

  • MTA crews installed several yellow platform barriers at the 191st Street subway station Sunday
  • The barriers are meant to protect people from falling onto or being pushed onto the tracks
  • It's part of a pilot program launched after the death of subway rider Michelle Go, who was pushed onto the tracks in 2022
  • Barriers were installed last year at the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue, Third Avenue and Times Square–42nd Street stations

On Sunday afternoon, passengers like Hannah Scholl had mixed reactions to seeing the newly installed barriers.

“It’s something, but it’s not blocking the entire entryway, so if you have some wacko person who is mentally disturbed who feels like being violent, it’s not going to do much,” Scholl said.

These barriers are separate from the MTA’s $100 million plan to install sliding doors at the Sutphin Boulevard-Archer Avenue, Third Avenue and Times Square–42nd Street stations. Those doors have yet to be installed. 

That plan was proposed after the death of subway rider Michelle Go. She was pushed onto the tracks at the Times Square-42nd Street station in 2022. 

The MTA has also launched another program to install safety barriers at the center of some platforms along the F line. 

When asked about the newest safety measures installed at 191st Street, School said she was expecting “something a little more high tech.” She said she was expecting full barriers like the ones seen in other countries. 

“In my country we have screen doors to prevent those slippery situations,” subway rider Youngmin Hwang said. Hwang said in his home country of South Korea, they have protective sliding doors.

“Previously our situation was the same,” Hwang said.

The MTA has looked into sliding doors, but said it would only be feasible at fewer than 30% of stations.

As for the yellow barriers, the agency said it will study this program to decide if the concept should be scaled up, making at least some customers feel safe.

“It makes me feel a little safer, because usually I get really scared of holes, thinking I could fall down,” passenger Yonah Krukowski said.

Scholl’s 6-year-old son Jonah said he always stays a safe distance away from the edge.

“That’s why it has the announcement, ‘Please stay away from the platform until the train comes,’” Jonah said.

Editors Note: An earlier version of this story had incorrect information about the MTA's plan to install sliding doors at three subway stations.