FTA signs off on Missouri's transit-rail safety program

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) yesterday announced that Missouri has obtained federal certification of its transit-rail state safety oversight (SSO) program.

By law, states with transit-rail systems are required to achieve federal certification of their SSO programs by April 15, 2019. To obtain certification, states must meet certain statutory requirements, including establishing an SSO agency that's financially and legally independent from the transit agencies it oversees.

In Missouri, the state's department of transportation (DOT) has been designated to provide safety oversight of the Kansas City Streetcar system and the Loop Trolley Transportation Development District in St. Louis.

Additionally, Missouri's DOT and the Illinois Department of Transportation will be jointly responsible for providing safety oversight of the Bi-State Development Agency's MetroLink light-rail system in St. Louis.

States that fail to meet the certification deadline risk losing new federal transit funds, according to the FTA.

So far, 23 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have had their SSO programs certified. The FTA is reviewing SSO programs in California, New Jersey, New York and Oklahoma, according to the agency's Sept. 24 certification status table.

The FTA has also received an application for Florida's SSO program, but that review has not yet begun. In addition, while Maryland, Virginia and the District have obtained certification individually, they still have yet to submit a joint application for an SSO agency to oversee the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Metrorail system, according to the table.