How New York City Keeps Subway Deaths From Slowing Down The Transit System

New York's subway stations see more than five million passengers every weekday alone, so when a death happens within a station, the body needs to be removed immediately — even if that means stashing it in a closet, according to The New York Daily News.

In 2012, 139 people were hit by New York City trains and 54 died. Two high profile pushing cases last month have put a spotlight on murder by incoming train, what many New Yorkers consider to be their worst transit nightmare.

But every minute that the trains are delayed by a dead body, tens of thousands of NYC commuters are left stranded. A transit official explained to the Daily News that, “Unnecessary interruption of train service can inconvenience thousands of passengers and endanger public welfare. In addition, unnecessary interruption can increase temperatures significantly in trains and stations, and may cause panic on crowded trains stopped in tunnels.”

And so because of the danger it may cause other commuters, the bodies are removed as quickly as possible. When a person is killed by an incoming train, the passengers are removed from the subway cars, the platform is cleared, and witnesses are interviewed by the police. If no crime has been committed, firefighters or the police Emergency Service Unit officers will remove the deceased from the tracks to a room on the upper level of the station. An officer is then posted outside the door until a medical examiner can come to remove the body, which means oftentimes train service has already resumed before the deceased has even left the station.

Something to think about the next time your train is delayed.