[kragen]

It happened not to be a dangerous situation for this passenger, but that is not always the case. See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42646148 for a list of examples.

When I pulled the emergency stop cord on the train, I also pulled the emergency door opening lever. The doors opened, on a track section. I've used an emergency door opening lever more recently when the train had already stopped and we were being instructed to exit because of a mechanical problem (possibly a fire), but that was at a station.

Elevators, in my experience, also universally have E-stop buttons or switches.