In Emergency to Stop Car and Open Doors Pull Lever Down and Push Doors Apart

Ever seen the red levers on the Green Line trains?  Ever wonder what happens when you pull the lever?  The train stops, right then and there.  No matter what it was doing before; 20mph to zero in a flash.

When is the lever supposed to be used?  “In Emergency.”  The T attracts all kinds of folks, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the word “emergency” can mean different things to different riders.  To a regular commuter, “emergency” might mean “life or death situation.”  But how about to a gaggle of tween girls on a shopping expedition without a chaperone?  What might “emergency” mean to them?  Could it mean “accidentally got on the E train outbound to Brigham Circle when we wanted to go to Kenmore?”  If you believed that no one possibly could think that would qualify as an “emergency” enough to pull that lever … you’d be wrong.