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6/7/2023
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has revised its worker safety plan after the Federal Transit Administration rejected the original plan last month.
Following a letter from FTA asking MBTA to take immediate action to protect its workers on the right of way (ROW), the federal agency required MBTA to draft a ROW rules compliance and safety work plan for its employees. The FTA rejected that plan because the safety procedures included in the plan could not be implemented within the next 60 days, NBC Boston reported.
MBTA on June 5 submitted to the FTA a revised work plan that highlights actions to be taken in the next 60 days, including the implementation of new communications protocols and overnight work procedures.
"MBTA senior leadership has reviewed the short-term actions contained in the work plan, find them to be appropriate" and has begun implementing immediate measures, MBTA General Manager and CEO Phillip Eng wrote in a cover letter attached to the new safety plan.
Between March and April 2023, at least five “near-miss events” occurred when trains came too close to workers on or near the tracks due to miscommunication between construction crews and dispatch, according to NBC Boston. One employee was seriously injured during one of those incidents.
If MBTA fails to address the safety concerns, FTA will prohibit MBTA ROW employees from working on the track, NBC Boston reported.