Hacker News Reader

At least on certain lines, if you lean on the doors, emergency brakes will be applied, regardless of whether the train is in a tunnel or not.

This often happens when a train is particularly crowded and people are crammed in near the doors.

View on HN

This slows the train down it doesn’t stop it.

Happens quite often on the Jubilee line, and whether it’s the brakes being applied or motors cutting out, the upshot is the train comes to a very abrupt stop, seemingly with no action from the driver.

This is usually followed by a frustrated driver coming over the PA system to implore people to stop leaning on the doors, because they are unable to move the train until they do so.

In deep underground lines? I never experienced that, and in rush hour central line or Northern line it's basically impossible not to lean on the door.

I take the central line regularly and this happens once a week. Big yank, followed by a "Please don't lean on the doors, it will slow down the train", it's par for the course.

The old district line stock used to do it, but they’ve all been replaced now. It didn’t stop the train it would limit the maximum speed. The driver would keep announcing to stop leaning but in heavy traffic that wasn’t always easy.

I think the Central Line still does it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com