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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — After several close calls between MBTA trains and workers, federal regulators ordered the 'T' to take ‘immediate actions’ to help keep crews safe.
The Federal Transit Administration wrote to 'T' officials outlining new requirements to protect workers from what it calls ‘unsafe practices.’
While FTA Chief Safety Officer Joe Delorenzo said the 'T' has made progress in making safety improvements since a federal safety inspection last year, he said in the letter that “a combination of unsafe conditions and practices exist such that there is a substantial risk of death or personal injury."
Officials say in the past five weeks, there were five ‘near misses’ between trains and workers, as well as an employee injury.
New MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said workers are being trained to ensure unsafe practices are not repeated.
"Those near misses are things that we know are avoidable," he said. “We're looking at policies, procedures, processes on how we do this so we don't have them happening again."
WBZ's Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.
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