WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has announced its final rule governing safety for transit agency track workers, following up on a proposal made earlier this year.
The rule, published Tuesday, Oct. 29 on the FTA website, will become official when it is published in the Federal Register, which is slated to occur Thursday, Oct. 31. It follows a proposal from March [see “FTA proposes rules …,” Trains News Wire, March 22, 2024] that drew more than 7,000 public comments.
The rule requires transit operators to adopt and implement a Roadway Worker Protection Program approved by a state oversight agency and consistent with federal and state requirements; establish minimum worker safety program elements including job safety briefings and protection for lone workers; create or update safety manuals to document the worker safety program; and establish a training program for all workers responsible for on-track safety by position.
“The final rule protects workers who access the rail tracks and promotes a safe work environment for all employees of rail transit systems,” FTA Deputy Administrator Veronica Vanterpool said in a press release. “This final rule will save lives and ensure that our transit workers, who work tirelessly to maintain our rail transit systems nationwide, get home safely each day to their families and loved ones.”
The National Transportation Safety Board hailed the FTA move.
“The NTSB has been sounding the alarm on roadway worker safety for years,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a press release. “While we still have to fully analyze the final rule, it appears to be a strong effort aimed at implementing multiple NTSB safety recommendations. This new rule is a critical step in protecting roadway worker safety and saving lives.”
The NTSB said the rule could address as many as six open recommendations addressed to the FTA. NTSB staff will analyze the rule, after which safety board members will determine whether it satisfies any of those recommendations.
