Learn from the experts
Platform accidents like the one that just killed a Toronto man have been almost eliminated in Japan
The death Tuesday night of Daniel Panacci, caught and dragged by a departing GO Train at Toronto’s Union Station, is a tragic, but not surprising, event. Given Union’s cramped and often chaotic platforms, one marvels at the fact such accidents do not occur more often. It is clear changes are needed on station platforms; meaningful changes that go beyond the usual mindless bureaucratic responses of increased signage or “backpack-free zones.” To do so, GO Transit should take a page from the Japanese rail system and its standard-setting methods of platform management, safety and design.
As a former regular on the morning rush hour Lakeshore West train, it is a situation that is all too familiar: Hundreds of passengers disembarking from just one side of the train, onto a platform ill-equipped to handle such volume. Frequent bottlenecks at stairwells and elevators further narrow the platform so that it accommodates only two abreast. Logjams of passengers frequently occurred at the tops of staircases, most with doorways opening out onto the platform rather than inwards, and only wide enough to fit two or three passengers at a time.
Slips onto the tracks were common; people intentionally walking along the tracks to beat the crowds even more frequent. Yet, security was rarely present, and the train’s customer service ambassador was usually preoccupied with clearing stragglers from the now out-of-service train. Rush hour on Union Station’s platforms resembles an almost anarchic mass, with passengers mostly left to their own devices.
What, then, can GO Transit and Metrolinx, the provincial agency that manages it, learn from the experience of the far more developed Japanese rail system? At the risk of spurring on a taxpayer funded fact-finding mission for Metrolinx brass, the answer is: quite a lot.
Riding in Japan’s aboveground rail or underground Metro, it is hard to miss what seems like a rather enthusiastic dance routine from the trains’ conductors: exaggerated pointing, fist pumps and arm waves, all accompanied by assorted shouts of varying audibility. Station attendants positioned along the length of the platform get in on the game too, with sweeping arm gestures and pointing during train arrivals and departures.
They are not, however, squeezing in some on-the-job dance practice, but engaging in a safety routine known as yubisashi kosho, or pointing-and-calling.
Pointing-and-calling seeks to reduce on the job accidents by focusing employees’ attention on critical aspects of their job through engaging their mind, eyes and body. Each movement has a purpose: when checking the train’s speed, the speedometer and posted speed limit are pointed to, read, and the numbers called out. Departures are confirmed with emphatic gestures towards the train’s brake system, platform agent, clock and accelerator.
The platform agents’ arm gestures are likewise meaningful. Rather than doing a quick visual scan of the platform and tracks for obstructions, the agent points along set distances while audibly confirming no obstructions, such as fallen passengers, are present. A final raised arm (sometimes aided by a flashlight for increased visibility during rush hour) confirms to the conductor and other agents that it is safe to depart.
While it might seem silly to Western eyes (and indeed, pointing-and-calling has had very limited traction outside of Japan), the system is credited with reducing on-the-job accidents by as much as 84 per cent.
Pointing-and-calling and a skirmish line of attendants placed along rail platforms allows for better focus and vigilance on the part of conductors, and greater situational awareness around arriving and departing trains. While it is impossible to say if such a system would have made a difference in the case of Panacci, years of living in Japan have shown such methods to be an invaluable, and lifesaving, tool for railways.
Japanese station design principles also must be considered. Union Station’s platform-level doorways open in one direction, and that direction is usually out towards the platform. Most doors are unable to be propped open, and with disembarking passengers approaching stairwells from three directions, passenger logjams are common.
Tokyo, while considerably more temperate than Toronto, does not employ doors on its station stairwells; one less obstruction to the free flow of passengers. Even Shinjuku Station, the busiest in the world with a daily passenger volume of 3.5 million, does not see jam-ups of arriving and departing passengers.
In some areas of Japan where the local weather demands it, modular designs are used, including removable doors for seasonal installation. Discreet, floor-mounted sensors detect passenger traffic flow and provide real-time updates to railways’ corporate offices, allowing for the fine-tuning of station layouts to ensure the smooth flow of passengers.
The most important, and not coincidentally, most expensive, change is a widening of Union’s platforms and stairwells, which feel downright claustrophobic compared to the spacious expanses found in most Tokyo rail stations. Allowing for more room for passengers to reach their trains and wider stairwells to improve passenger flow, wider platforms would significantly ease train-side congestion and allow passengers to give trains a wider berth.
Union Station and the typical Tokyo train station are like night and day in many aspects, safety and platform management not the least among them. GO Transit and Metrolinx must recognize the deficiencies in their system and consider adopting the practices of more-developed rail networks so that tragedies such as the death of Daniel Panacci do not occur in the future.
It is hard to miss what seems like a rather enthusiastic dance routine from the trains’ conductors