Imagine boarding your usual A Line train, expecting a smooth ride, when the train suddenly stops minutes into the trip. Minutes pass. You realize you’re going to be late for your appointment. The cause of the delay? A phenomenon known as “door creep.”
“It’s called ‘door creep” because the train door will slightly creep or crack open while the train is in motion,” explains Tohmer Soltes, Manager of Rail Fleet Services at Division 11 in Long Beach. “The door will open very little — less than an inch— but enough to trigger an alert that causes the train to stop, creating delays and inconvenience for our riders.”
The team began noticing the issue in September 2024 on Metro’s P2000 trains —one of the models used on the A Line, which runs between Long Beach and Azusa. An external contractor attempted to repair the door mechanism, but the problem persisted. Trains were delayed, taken out of service, and rider complaints piled up. In just a few months, Metro logged at least 40 reports (between operators and customer reports) related to “door creep.”
It got to the point that removing the entire P2000 fleet from service was considered. Instead, Metro decided to tackle the issue in-house.
“Last December, we started working toward a solution.” Said Soltes. “We needed to put a remedy to this.”
A cross-functional task force was assembled and named the “Tiger Team” —a term from the military used to describe specialized teams which solve complex problems under tight deadlines.
Metro’s Tiger Team included 13 staff from Rail Fleet Services, Rail Vehicle Acquisition, Rail Operations, Corporate Safety and Rail Vehicle Engineering. Their mission: identify the root cause, test solutions, and implement a fix — fast!
After testing and validating recommendations, the Tiger Team assumed oversight of the adjustments across the fleet.
One of the key fixes was installing a modified resistor to the door mechanism. A resistor is a small electrical part that slows down the flow of electricity — kind of like how a faucet controls water pressure. In this case, it helped the doors close more firmly, without compromising any of the door’s safety features. It may sound like a small adjustment, but it made a big difference!
Still, the team quickly discovered that the dynamics of the doors changed when the train was in motion. “The doors acted differently during testing while the trains were parked,” said Frank Takacs, Maintenance Specialist Leader at Division 11. “It was during mainline testing, with the train in motion, that we realized more adjustments were needed.”
Ronnie Burt, another maintenance specialist, explained that while the team worked out both mechanical and electrical solutions for the main issue, they also discovered other related problems. “Every door is unique,” he said.
Based on this, the team identified and addressed additional challenges —such as synchronizing how the doors closed, ensuring they were level, preventing rattling, and stopping the from bouncing back after closing.
Each P2000 car has eight doors — and with 52 of these vehicles assigned to Division 11, the scale of the task was no small feat. So far, the team has completed work on 18 cars, which means they’ve already repaired and adjusted 144 doors. It’s meticulous work —measuring, adjusting, testing – all done one door at a time.
Each train door has about 20 main components and when taken apart, each has over 100 pieces! That’s a lot to adjust and reassemble. It requires skill, patience and sharp eyes. Luckily, this crew had all three.
After adjustments are made, each door is connected to a laptop and must pass a test cycle -opening and closing 50 times. If it passes, the train undergoes mainline testing with only an operator and a maintenance specialist on board. If everything checks out, the train is returned to service.
Maynor Retana, Ratsamy Khamvongsa, and Fuyuong Chung are the three-person team responsible for much of the hands-on installations. “Our job is replacing parts, making adjustments, and ensuring everything is installed correctly and working properly,” said Retana, a maintenance specialist in the division.
Since January 2025, the team has been averaging one car per week, including testing. “As of today, we have 18 cars back in service with the doors completely repaired,” says Soltes. “That’s about 30% of the fleet… The doors have been improved greatly, thanks in part to Division 11 Supervisor Fernando Morales, who prioritizes and oversees the work being performed for this critical project.”
The results speak for themselves: since the adjustments began, the modified trains have collectively logged more than 71,000 miles —and counting—without a single in-service door creep failure.
“I think the secret ingredient is that we have a lot of experienced — individuals who care about putting out a quality product for the public,” says Soltes. “We want to put out the best train we can…one that doesn’t cause delays.”
Burt added, “My career is maintaining this fleet…It’s rewarding to know the train is back in service because of something we did as a team.”
Takacs agrees. “At Division 11, we are allowed to think outside the box and apply solutions we believe will improve the fleet. You work with great people here — it feels like a family.”
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Heroes! Thanks for highlighting this team’s dedication and commitment to excellence!
Way to go. I appreciate the integrity, skill and hard work
These photos remind me of the (relatively) good old days when those P2000 train cars were placed in service in the then-newly opened Gold Line, when those trains cars, and stations, were actually nice and clean, and train ride was actually enjoyable. Good old days long gone.