FTA requests new corrective action plans from MBTA

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MBTA Subway Map

By Maeve Lawler, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief

The Federal Transit Administration asked the MBTA on Tuesday to revise 12 of its 20 proposed plans to increase the safety and functioning of the T. 

The proposals followed safety management inspections from the FTA in August—a response to numerous accidents on the T during the last year, including collisions between trains and cars, derailments, a fire on an Orange Line train, and the death of a passenger whose arm was caught in the doors of the Red Line. 

This is the second time the FTA asked the MBTA to improve its proposals since the agency submitted them in September.

The FTA rejected proposals to improve hiring processes and certification of new operators; safety management; risk assessment and monitoring; and increase the independence between the T’s quality control department and overseeing its operations. It accepted eight of the MBTA’s plans, including making safety communications more effective. Revisions of the remaining proposals are due Jan. 3, 2023.