MBTA Ordered To Take 'Immediate Action' On Safety Issues: FTA

BOSTON — Amid countless safety incidents circling around the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Federal safety investigators have issued a series of special directives for the rail system and its oversight agency to "remedy safety concerns and improve the MBTA's safety culture."

The MBTA and Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities are ordered to take "immediate action" on these safety issues as the Federal Transit Administration begins to wrap up its review of the two.

The FTA's investigation began back in May after the agency told the MBTA they were "extremely concerned with the ongoing safety issues" following the death of a Red Line passenger who was dragged for at least 100 feet before succumbing to his injuries.

In order to keep transit riders in the Boston area from avoiding the MBTA subway, the FTA issued these actions to provide a system-wide measure to fix longstanding issues with the agency's overall safety program.

The four special directives issued to the MBTA concern:

• Operating Control Center staffing
• General safety operating procedures
• Delayed critical maintenance
• Lapses in staff safety certifications

Each directive includes specific timeframes – ranging from 24 hours to 30 days for the MBTA to provide responses and take action.

The directive to the DPU affirms the need for the agency to enforce the special directives to the MBTA and address outstanding safety issues from FTA's most recent audit of the DPU. The most recent audit stems back to 2019 when the FTA highlighted backlogs of thousands of known defects related to the rails themselves.

Covering these issues the FTA outlined:

• hazard management
• accident investigations
• corrective action plans
• rules compliance

The FTA's inspection found that the MBTA's Operations Control Center is "not appropriately staffed" thus creating "an increased safety risk." To fix this, the MBTA is ordered to make sure all staff members are properly certified and have enough time between shifts, and are not too tired, or working multiple roles at once.

Some of the "emergency safety issues" flagged by the FTA were that some MBTA employees were ordered to work 20-hour shifts with only four hours off in between them due to the recent staffing shortage.

$5.5 million has been set aside for the next budget program to conduct safety inspections. This program will include areas where riders have been killed or injured both on the trains and station areas within the transit infrastructure.

"Safety is our number one priority and must be the primary focus for the MBTA and the DPU," said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. "Every transit passenger deserves a safe ride. Every transit worker deserves a safe workplace. The MBTA must immediately take action to improve its safety procedures for its passengers and workers."

Related:

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• Milton Man Dies After Falling From Stairs Near MBTA Station
• Red Line Service Resumes After Derailment At Broadway Station
• All New MBTA Orange Line Trains Pulled Out Of Service Thursday