TRA team members were in Texas, California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and New York this past month supporting the work of state safety oversight agencies and transit agencies in their safety and security projects. For state safety oversight, the Federal Transit Administration requires states to hold transit agencies to a standard of safe operations and maintenance practices, for which TRA provides state agencies at sixteen states with technical assistance.
Some highlights from the TRA team’s extensive review activities:
- Dallas: At the McKinney Avenue Trolley, team members reviewed rail operations and maintenance training and shop and system safety, as well as vehicles, power, and track systems.
- Chicago: TRA examined safety certification processes, rules compliance, and operations training at the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). TRA maintains an office in Chicago to serve our midwestern and western clients, and meets regularly with clients in the region.
- New York City: Overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the AirTrain system at JFK airport was reviewed by TRA for compliance with system safety, maintenance, and operations elements.
- Oceanside, CA: At North County Transit District, TRA security subject matter experts and analysts performed a proactive Threat and Vulnerability Assessment. A continuation of previous TVAs, the team examined several new construction projects, including a new platform for the Coaster commuter rail at Oceanside Transit Center, for potential security risks.
- Orlando: SunRail, a recent addition to the commuter rail landscape in Florida, was visited by TRA team members performing a comprehensive review of operations and maintenance procedures for safety impacts.
- Chattanooga: Team members held a hazard management training at the Chattanooga Incline Railway on behalf of the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
- Pittsburgh: TRA attended Roadway Worker Protection training at the Port Authority of Allegheny County to review its practices and procedures.
- Johnstown, PA: TRA paid a visit to the Johnstown Inclined Plane as part of PennDOT’s Rail Transit Safety Review program.
For more information on TRA’s safety and security review programs, click here.