A Metro-North train packed with passengers and hurtling at full speed was videotaped with a door dangerously stuck open — and has the MTA scrambling to conduct emergency inspections.
No one was injured in the freak incident on yesterday’s 8 a.m. New Caanan to Grand Central train — which was posted on YouTube today.
The extremely cold temperatures froze the circuit that control the train’s door at the 125th St. Station — causing it to stick in place.
The frost also caused a malfunction of the mechanism that would alert the conductor to the issue, according to James Fahey, the president of the Director of Association of Commuter Railroad Employees.
“It’s not a normal occurrence whatsoever,” he said. “What upsets me is the safety of the passengers.”
Instead of getting a warning that the door was open as the train started moving, the conductor’s control board showed that all doors were closed safely, Fahey said.
In the video, the door finally slid closed on its own after about two minutes and 50 seconds elapsed, as the train headed toward Grand Central Terminal.
A passenger standing next to it gave it a final shove in to place, the video shows — after several riders rubber-necked.
Metro-North identified the car yesterday and it has been impounded for investigation and repair.
“The footage in this video is very concerning to us and Metro-North is investigating this door malfunction. A door opening en-route is an extremely unusual occurrence,” said Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for the railroad.
“Metro-North is in the process of inspecting all train doors and all doors will be re-tested before the initial run of the day,” she said.
Fahey said it was mind-boggling that the passengers wouldn’t alert the train crew to the potentially disastrous development.
“The conductor was two cars back,” he said. “No one went to get him. There’s a stop buzzer and emergency brake there, with signs and arrows pointing at them. Why are we making a video instead of hitting them?”
Fahey said he’s seen passengers hit the emergency brake “when they oversleep their stops, so why not this time?
Anders said passengers should “immediately move away from the door and notify a conductor, who can manually close and lock the door shut.”
