New FTA rule will protect rail transit workers, official say

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A new rule issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) aims to make transit workers safer by mandating safety standards.

The first-of-its-kind rule sets minimum standards for rail transit agencies to improve safety conditions and protect rail transit workers.

“Transit workers deserve to know their safety is the highest priority when they’re performing track work,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “We now have the first-ever rule requiring worker protection standards for rail transit agencies that will keep American transit track workers safe as they do their important work to keep our transit systems operating.”

Under the final rule, which will be published to the Federal Register on Oct. 31, rail transit agencies across the country will have one year to create and receive State Safety Oversite Agency (SSOA) approval for a worker protection program focused on employees who work on or around the tracks. The agencies are also required to implement comprehensive safety training and ensure that unsafe acts and conditions are reported.

“Today’s action provides greater protection for workers on our nation’s subway, light rail, and trolley systems. The final rule protects workers who access the rail tracks and promotes a safe work environment for all employees of rail transit systems,” FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said. “This final rule will save lives and ensure that our transit workers, who work tirelessly to maintain our rail transit systems nationwide, get home safely each day to their families and loved ones.”

Between Jan. 1, 2008 and June 30, 2024, 29 transit workers were killed and 144 were seriously injured doing their jobs. The regulatory action to address rail transit worker safety was recommended by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the FTA’s Transit Advisory Committee for Safety.