CTV News Montreal

Updated: Tue Nov. 09 2010 12:50:15 PM

ctvmontreal.ca

MONTREAL — Questions are being raised about commuter safety after a rider took a video that shows the metro speeding down the tracks with a door wide open.

A person who calls himself Maxime Perron posted the video to YouTube Monday evening, saying one door stayed open while the metro car ran on the green line for several stops between the Langelier and Frontenac stations.

He said nobody on the car pulled the emergency brakes because they did not want to be stuck between stations.

The Société de Transport de Montreal said the incident actually occurred for a single stop, between the Beaudry and Berri-UQAM stops on the green line.

STM spokeswoman Marianne Rouette said that once they were alerted to the problem they immediately took the metro out of service and sent it for testing.

"They repaired the broken pieces and sent them to the lab so there's an expertise that will be done," Rouette said. "We will know more about the cause maybe today, maybe tomorrow."

Rouette added that passengers should pull the emergency brake in such a situation in order to notify the driver.

She said the pulling the break will make the metro slow down to a safe speed before pulling to a stop at the next station.

Comments are now closed for this story

Mitch
The STM claims this has nothing to do with the of the metro cars? Montreal has *THE* oldest subway rolling stock in North America, and to my knowledge, most of the world.

Failures like this are not going to be uncommon, regardless of what parts were "upgraded". We WILL start seeing injuries and deaths occur as Quebec/Montreal drags its feet pushing these trains long past their age and safety limits.

What if this were at rush hour? How many people would have died? Does the Quebec government even care, or is shrinking the size of English lettering on the emergency signs (i.e. impossible to read) more of a priority in the metro? No guess there.

I've lived in Montreal my whole life, but I've decided it's time to give up on this province and city and move to Toronto. Goodbye third world Montreal, hello world class city (with A/C on their subways and buses to boot!)

Ruby
Nobody pulled the emergency breaks because they didn't want to get stuck between station?

What if there were children on board, or a person who is visually impaired, or or..
Thats what the breaks are for emergencies and that clear was one!
Mechanical things that are 44 years old even if checked and maintained can malfunction they are machines. Thank goodness nobody was hurt but how absurd that nobody hit the emergency break and some continued filming instead.

peter
First of all thank God no one was hurt.I don't see where the quebec government is so corrupted sam !Hello.Ashtr WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING MUST BE GOOD LOL.Maxime Perron you have a good cell phone.AS MysticMTL SAYS Pulling the emergency brake no longer makes the train stop in the tunnel, it only advises the driver that the lever was pulled and the train will arrive in the next station and is unable to leave until the operator resets the lever. There is also an in train intercom that could have also been used.

The passengers should have alerted the operator, but in the end, it should have been the responsibility of the STM to make sure the safety of the passengers is maintained.MysticMTL I take my hat off to you cause of what you do before getting into a closed enviroment,evaluate the surrounding to see if there are any saftey issues and see what alt.there are to elimate a hazard good stuff.So to wrap this up people emergency switches are there for a reason and I know there not there to hurt someone but are there to prevent people from getting hurt.

christopher robin garrish
How many billions of dollars did Stephen Harper throw at non essential 'infrastructure' like hockey rinks and curling clubs? There is no light rail transit on Vancouver Island, just a billion dollar highway with stop lights all the way to the top - even though an existing rail bed is begging for redevelopment and would reduce automobile use enormously. No Conservatives do not work towards rational progress they work towards lining their own pockets and those who pulled the strings to get them 'elected'.
Fort McMurry is the capital of Canada and Mr. Harper is its mayor - any attempt to reduce automobile usage is defeated by those who sell gasoline and automobiles. Just look around.

Jessica Bernier
Yes the metro cars are old and in need of replacement. Its not a matter of "if" something mechanical will fail but rather "when"...
What is most alarming is that people are more concerned with getting to the next stop instead of being concerned with human safety - sad state of affairs.

Marvin
STM air conditioning solution.

abi abdul
something is telling me " I DONT BELIEVE THIS WOMAN"

ahmed
convertible metro?

jose
THE TIME SHE TAKE TO MAKE THIS VIDEO WHY DIDT SHE PULL THE EMERGENCY BRAKE.

linda
I don't understand why so many of you are confused as to "how this could have possibly happened" IT DID HAPPEN! The STM confirmed this themselves! And how could it have happened!? BECAUSE IT WAS MALFUNCTIONING!! Yes there are sensors on the doors WHILE THEY'RE IN WORKING ORDER!! But these doors obviously were not working correctly and to assume that the sensors would still work despite this, is ridiculous.

Emilee
Good to know that our metro cars will last until 2014!

ashtr
i believe the entire thing was staged... its possible that the entire metro car was full of undercover government officials. by allowing the door open for a couple of stops, someone who "call themselves" Maxime Perron, luckily had the sense to film this instead of pulling the emergency brake, which to the surprise of many, does not actually stop on a dime and throw everyone across the car, infact slows down and stops at the next station. this is a clever, yet slightly risky way to ensure the public that the contract went to the right company (bombardier), even tho there were many other credible companies who would secure the same contract for much less, hence justifying the increase of fares next year...safety first!!!

MysticMTL
The metro is not designed to operate while the doors are open, unless someone had pulled the manual door controls located hidden near each door. But even then, if this had occurred for 7 stations, you'd think that the train operator would have noticed an open door through his mirror before leaving the station.

I've only seen this one other time in my life, and the operator kept the train in the station until a supervisor arrived to evacuate the affected car, and he stayed on board to make sure nobody would get on that particular car, and the train was taken out of service at the end of the line.

Pulling the emergency brake no longer makes the train stop in the tunnel, it only advises the driver that the lever was pulled and the train will arrive in the next station and is unable to leave until the operator resets the lever. There is also an in train intercom that could have also been used.

The passengers should have alerted the operator, but in the end, it should have been the responsibility of the STM to make sure the safety of the passengers is maintained.

Go.Mallory
"He said nobody on the car pulled the emergency brakes because they did not want to be stuck between stations."

What a bunch of morons!

Sam
This is the publicity to show the city that we need new metro cars, and to hide that the government awarded the contract to a bombardier over other companies even thaugh they could of payed a fraction of the price. An other reason to show how the quebec government is so corrupted.

Rob.
Oh! Dear Lord!
Now.Even Our Metro Cars Are Falling
Apart,Not Just The Highways Interchanges Falling & Collapsing,Streets,Building Windows,Sports Avenues(Olympic Stadium),St-Catherine Street Swallowing Cars!Where's All The Money Going,While The Infracsture of The Outdated,In Some Cases Badly Built Landmarks & Roads Is Cracking Down,Hire Someone From Outside Quebec To Fix This Horrible,If Not
Should Something ''Bad'' Might Happen.Wake-Up City Hall Repair The City,Instead of Partying With The Tax Payer's Money.I Just Can't Believe it Really?
What Would Be Next Place Ville Marie Crumbling Down??
Dear God.

AlexinMTL
EDITOR'S NOTE: Comment denied.

SM. in Montreal
You cannot turn on your microwave with the door open. The Metro used to be like that. What happened?

Samantha
Thank good I did not have to take yesterday to pick up my 5 year old son..
if that door was open around the time everyone come back or go to work will be a lot of people hurt or death.
Montreal metro is terrible and no amount of taxes will make me change my mind and I will from now own take my car

steve
when the emergency lever is pulled the train does not stop immediately, it will stop at the next station. it is posted right under the lever.

ronnie from montreal
wow I have been taking the metro for now 25 years and I never saw this and if it were me, I would have pulled the safety !

Mr. GI
How is that even possible? The metro cars aren't supposed to move if all the doors aren't closed. When the metro starts to leave and then suddenly stops (and everyone falls!) that's because a door hasn't been completely closed.

It's kinda scary and just another example of why we need to change these outdated metro cars.

James Furey
All i can say is WOW!!

daniele
Thank goodness I posted the video this yesterday night!! Thank you Todd!

just to comment
So why didn't this Perron man pull the breaks? Was he also afraid to be stuck between stations? If your stuck between stations than your stuck. SAFETY FIRST!

Armando Bartoli
Now dear Montreal, I'm sure your well aware that Mr. Gerald Tremblay wants owner of cars to pay more starting next year for Puclic Transit, is an open Metro Car Door reason enough. I don't think so, Gerald Tremblay and Montreal can scam everyone else, but I'm leaving to Ottawa next year where I don't have to put up with the 3rd world backword city anymore.

diamond
That is crazy!! What if there were children on the metro. Glad I did not take the metro that day with my kids!!

john
Open metro doors.
Higher car taxes.

Montreal winning award for Best Public transit in N.A = joke.

If Tremblay admin coerse drivers to take public transit, make sure it's up to par and not Iron Curtain material.

At least the AMT is working decently, but not everyone has the luxury of taking it.

Suzanne
Thank God there were no little kids on that metro .... I can only imagine my horror if I were there with my kids that day. This is UNACCEPTABLE.

Kevin
Was the door open for that long? The distance between Frontenac and Langelier is 7 stations!

As believeable as it is that the doors were open between 2 stations (say Papineau and Frontenac or Frontenac and Prefontaine)... but 7 straight stations without ANYBODY saying anything is highly difficult to believe.

As old as the metro cars are, they do have sensors.