After weeks of certifying operators to use Automatic Door Operations on the Blue, Orange, Silver, Yellow, and Green lines, the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission gave its concurrence to allow the Washington Area Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) to fully operate in Auto Door mode.

Customers will notice faster entries and exits with doors opening within three to five seconds after the train stops on the station platform. The time saved per stop is up to 10 seconds.

Auto Doors Coming to Fruition

WMATA previously launched Auto Doors on the Red Line last December.

“Auto Doors on the Red Line has been very successful with more than 1.3 million safe door openings since launching last year,” said WMATA GM/CEO Randy Clarke. “With Auto Doors, we’ve achieved better schedule consistency and now we’re excited to bring this safety and convenience improvement to all our customers.”

How Auto Doors Work

While train doors will open automatically upon arrival, operators will still close train doors manually for departure, allowing safe and ample time for customers to enter and exit.

Auto Doors are controlled by technology already onboard trains that ensures trains are safely stopped at the platform before the doors open.

Before departing, operators will close the doors manually after checking outside the driver’s side cab window to ensure all customers have cleared the platform.

Upgrading and restoring the technology for Auto Doors will enable WMATA to safely automate 20,000 daily door openings systemwide. This is a critical step in WMATA’s rail automation program that will improve the customer experience.