Man Jumps onto Moving GO Train, Metrolinx Issues Alert

A video has surfaced on social media showing a person jumping onto a moving GO train, which has led Metrolinx to caution passengers against similar actions.

The clip shared by Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay captures an individual sprinting down the platform as a train begins to slowly depart at 8:32 p. m. on January 21.

The person can be seen leaning over the edge of the platform and grabbing onto a train door while it continues to move forward. Fortunately, moments later, the train comes to a stop.

Train crews quickly halted the service upon realizing what was happening, Lindsay noted, adding that no one inside the train was hurt.

“Everyone has had those days where they’re racing for the train just as the doors close,” he mentioned on social media. “But in that situation, even if the train is still stationary, people should step back behind the yellow line and wait for the next one,” Lindsay advised.

“I know just how awful it feels to miss a train. But no exam, meeting, interview or appointment is worth putting yourself or others at risk,” he stated.

A passenger ran and grabbed hold of the closed door of a GO train heading to Durham College Oshawa station, said Metrolinx CEO Michael Lindsay on social media. (Mike Cole/CBC)

Lindsay urged commuters to report any unsafe behavior they see immediately to Metrolinx.

has contacted Metrolinx for more details about what happened after the train stopped and whether police were called.

A risky issue with passengers: Waterloo professor

The passenger made a very “poor decision” that could have resulted in serious consequences, remarked Jeff Casello, a transportation planning professor at the University of Waterloo.

While he wasn’t aware of all details regarding this specific incident, Casello indicated that some GO trains can reach speeds between 80 and 120 kilometers per hour after departing from stations.

“Certainly one wouldn’t want to be hanging off the side of a train going at 100 kilometers an hour,” he pointed out.

Although it would be quite costly for Metrolinx, he suggested they might consider installing platform screen doors – additional barriers sometimes found on subway systems – as a way to discourage such dangerous actions from passengers.

“It’s not a Metrolinx problem. It’s really a passenger problem,” he said.

“So if you’re the last person charging for that train … don’t put yourself in harm’s way trying to have that train be delayed.”

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