Commuters will notice something different the next time they're at the 191st Street subway station in Manhattan.
The Washington Heights station now has platform barriers. It is the first of four to receive the new technology as part of a platform security pilot program that could be expanded to the rest of the city.
“It is still in the trial phase and we will be closely monitoring whether the barriers are effective in deterring track encroachments without impacting passenger traffic. If they pass the test, we are ready for widespread deployment,” MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said in a press release on Sunday.
The barriers, which are installed at the edge of the platforms to allow people to get on and off the subway safely, were installed at the station over the weekend. The pilot is part of a larger New York City Transit program to prevent people from getting injured on the tracks.
The West 8th Street – NY Aquarium station – where the F and Q trains stop – and the Clark Street station – where the 2 and 3 trains pass through – are also part of the pilot program. The MTA has not yet announced the fourth station that will receive the new barriers.
The MTA said it used existing resources and internal workforce to complete construction on Friday and Saturday.
“This in-house approach is a good, low-cost, low-technology solution as a first step, and we look forward to further efforts like this to help drivers feel and be safer on the underground,” said Lisa Daglian, executive director of the MTA Standing Citizens Advisory Committee, in the press release.