The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) wants more warning signs on subway trains, after investigating the death of a child who fell between the railcars of a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) subway train.

The incident occurred on September 23, 2018, on a southbound train traveling train between the Alleghany Station and the North Philadelphia Station on the Broad Street Line. After a passenger activated an emergency alert, a train operator performed a ground level inspection of the train and found a 7-year-old boy who’d been struck and killed by the train. The child was walking through the end-of-railcar doors when he fell.

As a result of its investigation, the NTSB is recommending that the Federal Transit Administration:

• Use its authority under Title 49 United States Code Part 5329 to develop standards for safety messaging for end-of-railcar doors, including appropriate sign location, text, and symbols to be placed on rolling stock. (R-19-39)
• Once the messaging standards are successfully developed, use the authority under Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations 670.25 to immediately issue a general directive that would require all rail transit agencies to implement those standards on applicable rolling stock. (R-19-40)