CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In the latest issue for Charlotte’s increasingly troubled light rail system, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has said the Charlotte Area Transit System must fully staff its control center or suspend service.
The Charlotte Observer reports that an unannounced inspection found that CATS was sometimes operating its Rail Operating Control Center, or ROCC, with only one controller. It is standard to have two controllers, to run both the Blue Line and Gold Line, and preferable to also have a third person as a controller chief, according to interim CATS CEO Brent Cagle.
An April 1 letter from NCDOT to Cagle said that if the control center cannot be staffed with at least two fully qualified employees on any shift, “then CATS shall cease revenue service on the line affected by not having a dedicated ROCC employee assigned.” The edict is effective immediately.
Cagle told the newspaper he has instituted a mandatory overtime schedule to ensure two controllers are available at all times. He said he expects to hire additional controllers and have staffing back to normal in three to six months.
Charlotte’s city council learned last month that the Blue Line light rail equipment fleet was facing repairs expected to cost $20 million and take years, apparently because required maintenance had not been performed [see “Charlotte commission votes for investigation …,” Trains News Wire, March 23, 2023]. Other recently revealed problems include a failure to conducted required bridge and parking-garage inspections.
@Gerald McFarlane Have you personal knowledge and observation of the duties and responsibilities of Dispatchers in Charlotte’s ROCC?
As if one person can’t do the job…if you hire better personnel, then you only need one person to do the work. Yeah, you’ll need people for backup so that people can take vacation, but honestly, what do they really do all day long that you need two people sitting there and potentiall a third one overseeing the other two?
Gerald, I had the same thought, to an extent One person can handle the work, in all likelihood. But do you want only one person on duty in the building?
It’s the same with two crew in the locomotive cab. One person can handle the work, most of the time. Until he or she can’t. Or doesn’t.
One person could have tied up the train upgrade above Lac Megantic. But he didn’t.
The primary reason any CEO is hired is to operate its agency, business, etc. as set out in the hiring document. This neglect of the rail operating control center may go back to other CEOs. Be that may be everyone involved in letting this shortage occur should be held accountable.
I suggest that everyone involved have their pay and benefits suspended until there are qualified persons in the ROCC. That includes persons who no longer work there that indulged in the skull drudgery. That give a lot of incentive to fix this problem to NC DOT’s satisfaction.
Amazing what you can get away with until you get caught.
Suspend the CEO’s pay until proper manning is in effect. Wanna bet how quickly those openings will be filled ?
Guess they are taking their maintenance cues form NS now… 🙁
Or the MBTA!!