The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has put the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s New York City Transit (NYCT) on notice for failing to take appropriate measures to protect their track workers' safety. In what the FTA describes as the last straw, NYCT is being held accountable for its inaction in the face of increasing near-miss incidents and a recent worker fatality. The ominous weight of federal enforcement looms as the FTA demands a prompt and adequate response to these concerns.
It's a dire tableau at the NYCT. In August 2024, the FTA issued Special Directive 24-6, citing the organization for not bolstering safety protocols despite a fatal incident in November 2023 and another serious injury in June 2024. FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro expressed grave concerns, declaring, "I am disturbed by MTA’s failure to reinforce safety measures following serious accidents—one resulting in the death of a transit worker." Echoing this sentiment, Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen stressed the importance of accountability, given the MTA's "decades old pattern of exposing workers to harms way," according to a report by transit.dot.gov.
An alarming uptick in incidents, with 38 potential employee-near misses in 2023 up from 24 in the previous year, underlines the necessity for action. The FTA's mandate calls for a comprehensive revamp of NYCT's safety risk assessments (SRA) to effectively capture and address the rising tide of safety risks to track maintenance personnel. Despite two attempts by the NYCT, the FTA has deemed its SRAs insufficient.
NYCT now faces a stringent 30-day deadline to submit an updated SRA that must include recent risk trends, accurate risk exposure measures, and an alignment of probability classification with "documented operational experience of recurring worker-train contact events and near misses." Failure to meet these requirements could trigger severe consequences, including financial penalties and enforced operational restrictions as described by transit.dot.gov.
This development highlights the FTA's commitment to maintaining transit as the safest mode of surface transportation. With lives at stake, the agency is prepared to use its regulatory muscle to compel NYCT to finally prioritize the safety of its workers. It's a critical junction for NYCT, as it grapples with federal demands and the urgent necessity to shield its employees from further harm.
