NYCT taps Rumph to lead track inspection

MTA New York City Transit (NYCT) last week appointed Terri Rumph as chief track officer to lead the agency’s track division.

Rumph is responsible for maintenance and construction activity across all 800 miles of track, as well as ongoing efforts to improve the agency’s track inspection process.

Rumph previously served as NYCT’s chief infrastructure officer. She has over 30 years of experience in the operations and construction management fields.

Last week, NYCT completed a systemwide inspection of its containment baskets installed under elevated structures to prevent debris from falling. The inspection blitz, which followed two incidents of falling debris earlier this year, resulted in the agency introducing a series of new measures to address the issue. Rumph will oversee those efforts.

Moving forward, the agency will apply a “greater level of rigor” to its inspection process by requiring that any condition on the elevated structure that could lead to falling material be given highest priority for resolution, NYCT officials said in a press release.

This change has been codified in the official maintenance standards.

NYCT also will continue to seek engineering solutions that keep hardware in place, as well as ensure secondary protective measures are comprehensive and effective, officials said.

“We’re changing the way we prioritize which defects get immediate repairs so that we can address issues on the elevated structure as fast as possible,” Rumph said.