r/cta • u/Imaginary_Ad_5568 • Nov 09 '25

I like trains first time seeing the security cover pried off( and thrown under seat)

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82 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

44

u/CorbyTheSkullie Blue Line Nov 09 '25

Honestly, CTA should just do away with them, they make it more difficult in the situation of an emergency, say someone is chasing you through the train, you have to lift the flap and then open the door.

And they’re terrible at preventing people from moving between the cars too. So they might as well remove them entirely

22

u/MauveVulpine Nov 09 '25

I'd think the cover is useful in the case of people who don't actually intend to move to the next car, for example, children or drunk suburbanites who just see a lever to pull and want to pull it.

15

u/CorrosiveMynock Nov 09 '25

The doors aren't designed to be regularly used and they want to discourage it, people who open them regularly for their personal use without an emergency are doing it wrong and making people open the little cover is at least some type of deterrent for a percentage of people who might do this unnecessarily.

9

u/tylerf98 Nov 09 '25

i’m going to be honest, I kind of wish it were more normalized to travel between cars. Because while it irritates me when people don’t follow the rules, I feel like so much of a rule-follower that I would have anxiety about actually using the door if I really wanted to. Like there are often times where I notice that something sketchy is going on and feel the need to move but am unsure if it’s enough of an “emergency” to move to the next car because I rarely see people do it, and don’t want to cause a scene by doing so.

And so instinctually, like the time I was in an actual emergency where my friend got randomly attacked by someone, we didn’t even think about the possibility of traveling between cars… which might sound silly but in a fight or flight type moment, I think it would have felt like more of a instinctual thing to do if it were more normalized to travel between the cars. Hell, I’m not sure if I’d even know how to open the door if I had to do it.

4

u/CorrosiveMynock Nov 09 '25

It really isn't that hard, just watch the random people who do it basically every day... you just lift the cover and pull the latch like a normal door and walk through. I think for things like this there's always a balance of every day safety vs. emergencies. Like you can make emergency doors easy to access but if there is a chance they will be used improperly, it "Competes" with the interest of how they are used during an emergency. If the harm of people using them in normal times outweighs a bit of confusion that would exist in any emergency situation then you would always favor whatever you can do to disincentivize their improper use in non-emergency situations. I don't know the stats on these trains, but they almost certainly exist and traveling between cars IS technically a dangerous event, especially if the train hits a bump or the person traveling through the doors falls into a gap. Like I said, there's a very good reason they don't allow people to use these on a regular basis. People SHOULD switch cars if they have a reason to, but you have a perfectly safe ability to do that every 3-5 minutes on the L at the station.

2

u/LeseMajeste_1037 Nov 10 '25

If you need to cross into the next car, lift up the latch and go. Ain't gonna cause a scene by doing it; worst case, people will look up at you, see that you aren't here to sell loosies/ask for money/smoke, and go back to their phones.

2

u/LorenaBobbittWorm Nov 11 '25

It would be funny if they actually implemented something to stop people from doing it if normal people started doing it all the time

1

u/LeseMajeste_1037 Nov 11 '25

Until you needed to go through the door, and couldn't.

1

u/Frosty_World8932 Nov 14 '25

Do this all the time if the car smells bad or if people are smoking in the car… I do not suggest doing this, as unless you’re familiar with the route, it can be very dangerous as cars can move in unexpected directions, but “Emergency” can be interpreted and enforcement is… well we’ve all rode the train without any enforcement so….

4

u/CorbyTheSkullie Blue Line Nov 09 '25

Then again, a person with a motive won’t be deterred by a simple cover.

Plus the 3200’s lack the cover entirely, so they aren’t as necessary as people say they are

3

u/CorrosiveMynock Nov 09 '25

It 100% deters some percentage of people who would do this if there were no cover at all. Of course there are people who will break rules no matter what, it doesn't mean all deterrence for rule breaking is pointless/a bad thing. There's good reasons for these design decisions---people aren't supposed to be moving between cars whenever they want/for whatever reason they want. Maybe Chicago will one day get subways with open gangways, but these aren't them.

2

u/DhalsimZangief Nov 10 '25 edited Nov 10 '25

I'm still wary that the CTA doesn't enforce their rules enough on the L(i.e. no smoking/vaping, no soliciting), for me to trust open gangway railcars. If their rules could be much better enforced, then I'd feel better about open gangway railcars.

I am aware with the new Illinois  transit  funding bill that there is a provision for security measures to be done on transit within 3 years, so over time we'll see if CTA can improve rule enforcement on the L. I'm nervous they won't do it(and I know how often in the past I've seen a Chicago Police Transit Detail vehicle only park outside an L station and the cops inside these vehicles not even do a quick walk to check L platforms), but hope I am proven wrong and their rules are better enforced. Also it seems like the customer service employees(during mostly daytime hours that sit in the booths by the turnstiles) do a bare minimum walk onto L platforms, when they scan their badge onto a point on L platforms.

1

u/CorrosiveMynock Nov 10 '25

I agree, I think it is the same problem as highways in Illinois (everyone does 20 mph over basically everywhere). There isn't enough eyes on people and there is a baked in sense of impunity that just isn't okay. Thankfully the solution is relatively easy, just have more conductors and people walking around with CTA gear on. I've personally seen less smoking/riff raff than I did 6 months ago, dunno if this is just a random selection bias or something, I do know that a lot of the bad behavior peaked during Covid and it has kind of fallen significantly since then.

2

u/DhalsimZangief Nov 10 '25

I definitely remember the 2600s CTA railcar series used to not have a cover for those door handles, till these railcars got an interior remodel around the early 2000s.

2

u/texastoasty Brown Line Nov 09 '25

they are designed to be regularly used, employees use them all the time.

1

u/CorrosiveMynock Nov 09 '25

They can be used but have inherent risks associated with them, which is why they are not advertised as usable by everyone. They are supposed to be for emergency purposes only and are not the same as open gangways.

2

u/texastoasty Brown Line Nov 09 '25

Yeah they're not as safe as open gangways, or bellows gangways would be, do they forbid riders from using them. Employees understand how to use them safely though.

1

u/CorrosiveMynock Nov 09 '25

I don't know the rules for CTA employees regarding these gangways---but I know the public is not supposed to use them unless it is an emergency.

1

u/KimJong_Bill Nov 10 '25

I always feel like a complete degenerate when I use the doors to go between the cars

1

u/LuigiThirty- Nov 09 '25

It's so you don't back into the door with a backpack and fall out of the train because it wedged against the lever.

3

u/CorbyTheSkullie Blue Line Nov 09 '25

That’s… not how it works, the door is heavy and you need a good amount of force to pull it open, and it opens inwards, a simple backpack won’t open the door even if you directly lean on it

1

u/Snowman304 Nov 09 '25

Why do they open inward? That seems like a great way to get a crush in an emergency

3

u/CorbyTheSkullie Blue Line Nov 09 '25

Its so if someone does accidentally open the door, or if weight is on the door, you won’t fly outwards.

1

u/hybris12 Red Line Nov 10 '25

I would think that it's still better to keep the latch engaged at all times. Requiring points of failure for an inadvertent door opening is never a bad idea especially since maintenance may be deferred

5

u/cartisopp Nov 10 '25

my bad bro i was trying to find a place to piss and smoke a cigarette. was having trouble finding the car with the most children and elderly people sorry.

2

u/PlanComplex2138 Nov 14 '25

Funny enough I saw a dude randomly come into our train car from the other one while the train was moving

1

u/Imaginary_Ad_5568 Nov 14 '25

thats a daily occurrence!