Every train passenger’s worst fear becomes reality when door opens at full speed

Passengers narrowly avoided being sucked out of a moving train after the door failed to close.

Rush hour commuters clung to the handrails after the doors of a driverless Sydney Metro in Australia were left wide open.

Footage shows the underground train zooming at full speed while passengers stand just inches from the door last Wednesday.

A passenger who was on board the train managed to film the hair-raising journey at 62mph.

He said the ‘Sydney Metro takes off with the door open,’ adding that ‘I don’t think that’s meant to happen.’

However, seasoned commuters appeared surprisingly unfazed by the gaping door despite the high speed.

The train was on its way from Chatswood to Crows Nest on the northern shore of Sydney when staff had to intervene, according to ABC News.

Staff from Metro Train Sydney can be seen standing between the door and passengers to block it, while the signage above the door says ‘out of service.’

Staff tried to fix the issue remotely, but they were unable to close it and decision was made to run the train to the next station over its ‘short journey,’ the operator said.

Now, an investigation has been launched into the incident.

Daniel Williams, the CEO of Metro Trains Sydney, told Metro: ‘At approximately 8.01am a door fault was identified on a train travelling between Chatswood and Crows Nest Station.

‘There was Customer Journey Coordinator (CJC) and Customer Operations Lead (COL) on board the service.

‘They were contacted by our Operational Control Centre. They tried to remotely fix the issue. When this was unsuccessful, the OCC instructed the frontline staff to manually close the door.

‘To enable the train to complete its short journey to the next station, two staff members stood by the door until the service came to a stop.

‘The door was able to be closed at the next station, and the metro removed from service.

‘We apologise to customers for the concern this caused. The matter is under investigation.’

In London, passengers have had the opposite issue when they were trapped between the closing train doors.

A man tripped and was dragged by a moving train at Blackfriars station in December after he stepped close to the platform edge.

Australia’s first driverless metro trains launched in Sydney in May 2019, travelling on the nearly 15-mile line between 13 stations.

London has had a driverless train service since 1987 when the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) opened.

However, the Tube will not be driven by robots anytime soon after the London Mayor said work to introduce driverless Underground trains ‘shouldn’t be progressed any further.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.