Metro officials plan to erect a see-through barrier on the Red Line separating the platform from the track, with sliding doors that allow riders to enter and exit trains.
The plan for “platform doors,” unveiled by Metro this week, is designed to stem a rise in injuries and deaths when people fall on the tracks or try to die by suicide.
The glass barrier, about 5 feet, 7 inches high, will also keep debris off the track and allow trains to enter and exit stations at full speed, according to the Metro report that describes the barriers as a step toward fully automating the system.
Through July 9 of this year, 10 people had died in incidents involving Metro trains, compared to eight in 2025 and six in 2024, according to the report.
Metro plans to install the barriers first in the Red Line’s 27 stations as soon as 2028 before expanding them to the rest of the system.
Platform doors are in use in transit systems around the world, including Honolulu; Paris; Hong Kong; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Seoul, South Korea.
Metro has not yet released a cost estimate for the project.
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