3 Things to Do If You Fall Onto the Tracks of the New York City Subway

The New York City subway is one of the world’s most famous underground systems of transportation. But just like with any other subway system, using it comes with the potential risk of falling onto the tracks. While being on the tracks is dangerous, there are some ways to protect yourself or safely climb back onto the platform.

5-Minute Crafts will tell you what to do if you happen to fall onto the subway tracks.

❗ Important: This article is for information purposes only and doesn’t replace professional advice. This article contains local information pertaining to the New York City subway system. The information included herein may serve as general advice in the eventuality of falling on the subway tracks elsewhere, but be aware that subway systems are different across the world, and the advice may not apply.

1. Assess your surroundings.

There are no official universal guidelines for what to do when you fall onto the subway tracks. This is because the subway system is comprised of almost 500 stations, meaning that there are no pieces of advice that will work for every single case.

If you fall onto the subway tracks, the most important thing to do is remain calm. Assess your surroundings by seeing if there’s a train coming and by looking for any crew members that can give you further instructions. You should also look around for help — you can get someone to call 911, or use the customer assistance intercom system to get attention.

2. Avoid the third rail.

If you’re gonna walk around the subway tracks in search of safety, you need to be extremely careful not to come in contact with the third rail. The third rail provides the electric power that the train needs in order to operate. In the case of the New York subway system, the third rail carries 625 volts of electricity, way more than what the human body can sustain.

3. Run down the platform.

If you don’t see a train approaching, carefully run down the platform, away from the direction that the train will be coming from. Doing this gives you and other passengers more time to alert the subway operator by either getting help or waving at the train. It’s necessary for the train operator to notice that an emergency is going on as soon as possible, due to the fact that it takes time for the train to come to a stop once the brakes are activated.