Metrolinx is studying the feasibility of installing platform barriers at Union Station as it continues its efforts to improve safety following the death of a passenger on the tracks at the downtown transit hub last spring.

The Union Station Platform Action Plan was launched in April after 31-year-old Daniel Panacci was pulled to his death when his bag got snagged by a departing GO train during the evening rush hour.

The plan, which was posted to the GO Transit website on Monday, includes 16 items on how to improve safety and avoid a similar tragedy from happening in the future.

Some of the items, such as introducing no-standing zones along parts of the platform with limited space and banning the use of the platforms for storage, have already been implemented however others are either in the process of being implemented or are being studied.

One of the items that has been earmarked for further study is the use of barriers, where there is less than 50 inches of space between the platform edge and nearby structures

According to Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins, a report expected to be completed sometime this winter will detail the different types of barriers that could be used and the effect they would have on passenger flow and safety.

“We really believe that the platforms are safe but everything can always be safer,” she told CP24.

Also up for further study, is the “feasibility of creating marked loading zones where customers can line up.”

GO Transit says consultants are currently looking into that proposal, however it is not known when they will report back.

“We haven’t forgotten the young man who passed away last spring and we never will. We were all deeply affected by his death,” Aikins told CP24.

Here is a list of some of the other changes that have already been approved by GO Transit:

  • Maintain a standard 24-inch wide yellow safety strip on all Union Station platform edges at all times, even when renovation and construction is ongoing.
  • Increase staff presence on platforms to monitor crowd behaviour and enforce safety.
  • During fair weather, prop open doors to stairwells to enable better passenger flows to and from the concourse.
  • Trim sections of select platforms within the Union Station train shed where steps overhang into the yellow safety strip area.