Great Moments in Subway Engineering
I’ve been wondering for a few years now what the MTA was smoking when it approved a train design that put hand rails on the ceiling with such little clearance that they can only be held by your thumb and forefinger.
Because, you know, two fingers and a one-inch nub of steel totally give you the stability necessary to avoid the 300-pound guy being thrown into you as the train comes to a hard stop.
This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 6:09 am and is filed under Subway Stupidity, Life in NYC. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:05 am
Benjamin Kabak says:I have a sneaking suspicion that those “handrails” aren’t really handrails. Just a hunch though.
August 30th, 2007 at 7:17 am
admin says:I don’t know, Ben. They don’t have them on the brand new trains. It’s like they knew they didn’t serve any purpose, but they put them there anyway - just to torture us.
August 30th, 2007 at 9:03 am
Kim says:wow, apparently they are so far above my head I didnt even know they existed
August 30th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Ha Ha Sound says:Actually, those things can be useful if the train is crowded and you’re kind of in the middle near the doors and can’t reach over to grab a pole or handbar somewhere.
I guess though, as Kim says, you need to be pretty tall for them to be helpful.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Todd says:It’s not a true pole until there’s a woman dancing on it.
I’m just sayin.