Federal Transit Administration Threatens to Withhold MTA Funding Due to Alleged Failure to Address Safety Risks After Worker Death 

FTA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Federal Transit Administration this week issued a final warning letter to Metropolitan Transportation Authority's New York City Transit regarding safety risks for track maintenance workers.

The warning comes following tragic accidents involving NYCT employees, including one death.

You can read and download the FTA letter to MTA below.

The FTA issued Special Directive 24-6 to NYTC in August 2024 after MTA allegedly failed to strengthen safety measures between the November 2023 dealth of a track maintenance worker and a second serious injury to an employee in June 2024.

FTA issued a Special Directive 24-6 to NYTC in August 2024 after the transit agency failed to strengthen safety measures between the November 2023 death of a track maintenance employee and a second serious injury to an employee in June 2024. 

You can read and download Special Directive 24-6 here:

Marc Molinaro, the FTA Administrator, said “I am disturbed by MTA’s failure to reinforce safety measures following serious accidents –– one resulting in the death of a transit worker. Secretary Duffy has said time and again, safety is USDOT’s top priority, and we will not accept anything less than full accountability. Let me be very clear: We will not accept being jerked around on safety and security issues any longer. By anyone, anywhere.”

The Special Directive resulted from an FTA audit of the New York Public Transportation Safety Board’s (PTSB) State Safety Oversight (SSO) program, the agency designated by the State of New York to provide safety oversight for the NYCT rail transit system. During that audit, FTA identified significant deficiencies in NYCT’s Rail Transit Roadway Worker Protection (RWP) program and a noted increase in near-miss events involving transit workers reflecting a combination of unsafe conditions and practices. FTA issued a Special Directive 24-7 to the PTSB to perform additional oversight activities to address an escalating pattern of safety incidents and concerns affecting transit workers at NYCT. You can download and read Special Directive 24-7 below.

All total, NYCT experienced 38 potential employee-near misses in calendar year 2023, a 58 percent increase from 24 incidents in 2022 and a 65 percent increase from 23 events in calendar year 2021.  In the last year, FTA has communicated to NYCT the need to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of its RWP program, including information from recent safety events. After two tries of NYCT, FTA has determined that NYCT’s safety risk assessments (SRA) failed to adequately account for a rise in risk levels and excluded critical data. Specifically, several track worker events occurred from calendar years 2021-2023, representing an incident rate approximately 3.4 times higher than the preceding eight-year period, calendar years 2013-2020.    Through the issuance of today’s letter, NYCT must submit an updated revised SRA to FTA within 30 calendar days.  The SRA must address the following:  

• Incorporation of recent risk trends: The revised SRA must incorporate and analyze the demonstrated acceleration in worker contact incidents, including CY 2024 incident and near miss data. 

• Application of appropriate exposure measures: Risk calculations must be based on measures that accurately reflect actual worker risk exposure. 

• Alignment of probability classification with operational reality: The likelihood rating must be revised to ensure it accurately reflects NYCT’s documented operational experience of recurring worker-train contact events and near misses.   

If NYCT fails to meet these deadlines and produce an adequate SRA to address the safety risks to its track workers, FTA may take prompt enforcement actions against NYCT in accordance with federal law. This includes directing NYCT to use Federal financial assistance to correct safety deficiencies, withholding up to 25 percent of financial assistance and issuing restrictions or prohibitions as necessary and appropriate to address unsafe conditions or practices that present a substantial risk of death or personal injury.  FTA will not afford NYCT an opportunity to submit a fourth SRA.  FTA issued the directive last year as part of its oversight role and to continue to ensure transit remains the safest mode of surface transportation. FTA’s Public Transportation Safety Program regulation lays out the agency’s authority and process for overseeing and supporting transit safety, including issuing special directives.