FTA certifies state safety oversight programs in Florida, New Jersey, New York

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday announced that Florida, New Jersey and New York have obtained federal certification of their transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) programs.

Federal law requires states with transit-rail systems in operation to obtain FTA certification of their SSO programs by April 15. States with transit-rail systems in the engineering or construction phase also must get their SSO programs certified by the deadline.

As of yesterday, 30 of 31 states required to obtain certification for the SSO programs have been certified, FTA officials said in a press release.

The Florida Department of Transportation is responsible for providing safety oversight of the Miami-Dade Metrorail and Metromover systems, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority TECO Line streetcar system, and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority Skyway system.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is responsible for providing safety oversight of three New Jersey Transit properties: the Riverline hybrid-rail system, the Hudson-Bergen light rail system and the Newark City light rail system. The NJDOT also is responsible for safety oversight of the Port Authority Transit Corporation Speedline heavy rail system, which is jointly owned by New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

And in New York, the Public Transportation Safety Board is responsible for providing safety oversight of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's New York City Transit heavy-rail system and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Metro Rail light rail system.

"FTA is pleased that Florida, New Jersey and New York have developed safety oversight programs that meet federal certification requirements and will strengthen rail transit safety," said FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams.

To become certified, an SSO program must meet several federal statutory requirements, including establishing an SSO agency that is financially and legally independent from the transit agencies it oversees, according to the FTA.

A state that fails to meet the April 19 deadline will forfeit any new federal transit funds to the state's transit agencies until certification is achieved.

The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) is the remaining entity with its SSO program under review. The District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland are jointly submitting to the FTA an SSO certification application for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metrorail system, which will be overseen by the WMSC.