CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Metropolitan Transit Commission, the policy board for the Charlotte Area Transit System, has called for hiring an outside consultant to investigate a May 2022 light rail derailment and the transit agency’s failure to disclose significant issues revealed by that accident, as well as other problems.
National Public Radio station WFAE reports the commission, at its Wednesday meeting, voted unanimously to bring in the consultant. Commissioner Leigh Altman sought the investigation after the North Carolina Department of Transportation said the CATS response to the derailment was “unclear, insufficient and not acceptable.”
Television WBTV reports it is not clear if city manager Marcus Jones will now hire that third party to investigate or if it must be voted on by Charlotte’s city council. While the transit commission sets policy, CATS is a city department, and the city has hiring and firing authority, while the city council allocates funds.
Charlotte’s city council learned last week that the transit system’s entire fleet of 42 light rail vehicles will need axle bearings replaced, a problem revealed as a result of the May 2022 derailment but one interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle said he learned of just two weeks earlier, and only then through a letter from NCDOT.
The problem has led to a 35-mph speed restriction for the equipment and could take years to remedy entirely [see “Bearing issue leads to speed restriction …,” Trains News Wire, March 14, 2023]. WBTV reports NCDOT has required CATS to remove some trainsets from service entirely, and that the car involved in the 2022 derailment had gone 12 years without an axle overhaul required after 10 years.
At Wednesday’s commission meeting, Cagle — who took over as interim CEO on Dec. 1 — estimated the cost of repairing the light-rail vehicles at $20 million. He said he didn’t know why the required maintenance wasn’t performed, is investigating what went wrong, and said he wants to change a “culture of silence” in the agency.
He reported other issues at CATS, including buses that are past their “useful life” and bridges on the light-rail line that have not received required inspections — a problem he learned of when an employee came forward. He also believes the agency’s parking structures have not been inspected.
Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said in a Tuesday statement that the dual-agency governance structure for the transit agency is part of the problem, and that the area needs to consider creation of a regional transit authority. The transit commission’s Altman disagreed, saying the tructure had nothing to do with the agency’s lack of disclosure.
— Updated at 7:20 a.m. CDT to clarify hiring of investigator is a City of Charlotte decision.
There apparently is a concept of not telling political and public of ongoing problems and incidents. I blame the employment contracts that have severe penalties for non disclosure of problems.
As well, a very strong whistle blower policy.
Is CATS going the way of MBTA and the Washington Metro?