Metro door gets stuck and remains open as train takes off at 100 km/hr

Commuters on a Sydney Metro were in for a scary ride when one of the doors remained wide open even as the train continued to move at full speed. A video of the incident shows passengers standing away from the door as the train barrels through a tunnel. The driverless train left the Chatswood station for the Crows Nest at 8 am, but one of the doors did not close, Nine News reported.

The train quickly gathered speed and was travelling at 100 kilometres an hour. People can be seen standing away from the open doo,r which was also manned by two metro workers to prevent any untoward incident.

One of them called other officials using a two-way radio to update them on the incident, and the train stopped two minutes later. A sign above the door reads, "This door is out of service."

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Watch video of Sydney Metro train running with an open door

An investigation has been opened into the matter, although Metro Train Sydney insists that their trains are "safe" to ride. Daniel Williams, the head of Metro Train Sydney said the problem happened because of a fault and they are looking into it.

"At approximately 8.01 am, a door fault was identified on a train travelling between Chatswood and Crows Nest Station," Williams said.

"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."

It could have ended in "absolute catastrophe"

But the door remained jammed and could not be closed remotely. Later, the two Metro personnel standing at the door closed it manually with a special key. The train was put out of service. "The OCC instructed the frontline staff to manually close the door," Williams said.

Meanwhile, the Tram and Bus Union is not happy and is demanding that the metro trains be stopped to carry out safety checks. It is calling it the "worst rail safety incidents in a decade". The big question is, why was the train allowed to leave Chatswood station with a faulty door that would not close?

According to Sydney Metro, trains reach speeds of up to 100 km/h in the tunnel and touch 110 km/h in other areas.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RBTU) NSW secretary Toby Warnes said the incident "could have ended in disaster" and is "a sign of an incredibly immature safety culture."

"This could have ended in absolute catastrophe this morning, and we're lucky it didn't," he added.

"This train with its door open should never have left Chatswood station."