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Feds demand worker safety changes at MBTA, warning about ‘substantial’ risk of death or injury
In addition to five recent near misses, a safety incident last week left one MBTA worker seriously injured, according to the Federal Transit Administration.
Federal regulators have threatened to block the MBTA from track work unless the T takes immediate action to address risky conditions that have resulted in a number of safety incidents, including one that left a worker seriously injured.
More on MBTA safety:
In a letter to MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng Tuesday, the Federal Transit Administration stated that “a combination of unsafe conditions and practices exist such that there is a substantial risk of death or personal injury” for T workers.
The MBTA has made “clear progress” since the FTA highlighted several safety issues in a highly critical report last year, wrote Joe DeLorenzo, an associate administrator and chief safety officer with the FTA. Still, he said the federal agency “remains deeply concerned regarding MBTA’s implementation of its right of way (ROW) access procedures and practices.”
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On-site FTA inspection teams have seen “significant” gaps in safety oversight and training, as well as a lack of clarity in authority, accountability, and responsibility for worker safety on the tracks, according to DeLorenzo.
He cited five near miss incidents in March and April, when trains came dangerously close to hitting workers on the tracks. Additionally, a worker was seriously injured on April 13 while working on the right of way “in a location where access had not been requested or granted – a major violation of MBTA’s ROW safety procedures,” DeLorenzo noted.
The FTA issued a series of deadlines that the MBTA must meet if it hopes to continue its badly needed track work. Action items range from daily work plans to an analysis of how many crews can safely work on each line.
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Likewise, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities — which oversees rail safety at the state level — ordered the T to hold safety briefings for its employees and contractors after observing similar lapses in protocol, according to a March 24 letter obtained by Boston.com.
Last week, the DPU also ordered engineering and maintenance employees to take a safety refresher course, a process Eng said is already underway. Addressing the MBTA Board of Directors Wednesday, he said the recent near misses “are avoidable and should not be happening.”
Eng added: “I am committed to bringing the MBTA to a state of good repair, regaining public trust with an eye on the future.”
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