The Federal Transit Administration has ordered the MBTA to instantly conduct security coaching to handle runaway practice incidents in rail yards, citing the newest incident that occurred on Monday when a practice rolled onto the Red Line on the Braintree station.
In a July 28 letter to MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak, the FTA talked about three runaway practice incidents which have occurred prior to now two months. The two others occurred on May 28 and 30, which concerned a rollaway on the mainline from Braintree station and a rollaway at Cabot Yard, respectively.
“While no injuries have resulted from the recent incidents, uncontrolled train movements, especially on the mainline, are exceptionally dangerous, can result in collision or derailment, and pose a substantial risk of injury or death to employees in the path of the train,” the FTA mentioned.
The FTA is ordering the T to conduct what it referred to as a right away “safety standdown,” which can start at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
During this time, all staff tasked with working disabled rail transit automobiles or securing these automobiles are prohibited from participating on this work till they attend a security briefing to assessment and talk about the information and causes of the three most up-to-date runaway practice incidents, the FTA mentioned.
“The safety briefing must also reinforce the MBTA’s policies and procedures that prevent unintended or uncontrolled train movements,” the letter mentioned.
The MBTA was additionally ordered to organize checklists that mirror its current procedures for coupling and uncoupling trains, and require all rail transportation and automobile upkeep staff to observe these procedures.
The FTA mentioned the latest incidents exhibit a “continued failure” on the a part of the MBTA “to sufficiently prevent unintended and uncontrolled movements by disabled trains.” A federal directive issued to the T final month acknowledged there had been 5 runaway practice incidents from February 2021 to May 2022, together with one final December that injured three staff.
The feds mentioned the interim findings of its security administration inspection, which was initiated in mid-April following a passenger demise on the Red Line, has decided that unsafe situations and practices on the MBTA have created an surroundings the place there’s a “substantial risk of death or injury.”
The MBTA mentioned it has met all of its deadlines for submitting corrective motion plans to adjust to the 4 federal directives issued by the FTA final month. The T mentioned it has additionally issued a brand new collection of security directives, trainings and insurance policies for operators relating to practice actions in rail yards and ensured all energetic rail transit staff are licensed.
“The MBTA shares the Federal Transit Administration’s concerns over recent incidents of uncontrolled movements involving out-of-service rail cars,” T spokesperson Joe Pesaturo mentioned. “Fully supporting the FTA’s ongoing scrutiny of safety-related processes and practices, the MBTA is committed to providing the training and tools necessary for employees to create and maintain a culture in which safety is prioritized.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”