DANGEROUS GAPS LIRR
The Long Island Rail Road has come under fire lately for the wide gaps between the train cars and the platform in some stations. LIRR Officials have announced that they are taking the gaps extremely seriously and are evaluating the situation with the assistance of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB is a federal agency that investigates mass transportation accidents including train accidents and airline crashes.

Last month an 18 year old tourist from Minnesota was killed by a train after she fell to the tracks through a gap at the Woodside LIRR Station. Then a four year old girl fell to the tracks through a gap between a LIRR Train at the Penn Station Platform. Luckily this young girl escaped essentially unharmed.

The Long Island Rail Road acknowledged this week that the gap between its platforms and the commuter rail cars often exceeds legal standards. They have immediately launched a public awareness campaign and will install cameras that can monitor passengers getting on or off the train. However there have been no plans mentioned about correcting this dangerous condition.

Newsday, a local news agency has measured platform gap widths at various stations and have found gaps as wide as 15 inches. This large gap poses a severe and direct risk to the health and safety of the millions of users of the LIRR The Raphaelson Law Firm is closely monitoring the NTSB investigation and further developments in this matter.

We strongly urge our clients to take great care when boarding or departing from a train. Please be sure to step completely over the gap and firmly onto the platform. If you become stuck between the train and the platform immediately call the conductor for help.

If you or a loved one have been injured due to the excessively large platform gaps at one of the 124 LIRR stations contact the Raphaelson Law Firm for a free case evaluation.