Pennsylvania Receives Federal Certification for Safety Oversight of Rail Transit

Pennsylvania Receives Federal Certification for Safety Oversight of Rail
Transit

4/24/2018-KING OF PRUSSIA

Today, Secretary Leslie S. Richards announced that the Pennsylvania
Department
of Transportation (PennDOT) has obtained certification from the Federal
Transit
Administration (FTA) for its rail transit State Safety Oversight (SSO)
programs
to meet a new federal requirement in advance of the April 2019 deadline.
Under newly established federal law, states with rail transit systems must
be
certified to oversee their safety or face the loss of all federal transit
grants.
"PennDOT is committed to safety across all the transportation modes under
its
jurisdiction and this certification was critical to maintaining federal
support
and ensuring the continued safe operation of rail transit," Richards said.
"I
applaud our State Safety Oversight Office for working diligently to meet
this
requirement."
Pennsylvania is one of 30 states with rail transit that must meet the April

2019 deadline set by changes outlined in the federal transportation law,
MAP-21, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century. The change required
FTA
to certify that each state's rail safety oversight met the MAP-21
requirements.
The SSO program is responsible for independent safety oversight of rail
transit
and fixed guideway operations, including subway transit systems,
subway/surface
trolleys, as well as all stations and maintenance facilities related to
these
operations.
The Pennsylvania systems covered by this oversight include:
• The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
o Market-Frankford Subway Elevated
o Broad Street Subway
o Subway/Surface Trolleys
o Media/Sharon Hill Trolleys
o Norristown High Speed Line
• The Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh
o Light Rail System (the "T")
o Busways
o Inclined Plane Railroads
• Cambria County Transit Authority in Johnstown
o Inclined Plane Railroad
The SSO rule significantly strengthens PennDOT's authority through its
designation as a State Safety Oversight Authority (SSOA) to investigate
accidents and oversee a rail transit agency's implementation of its System
Safety Program Plan (SSPP) and Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.
This
final SSO rule replaces the existing regulations for SSOAs, which had been
in
place for the past 20 years.
In addition, Pennsylvania's SSO certification ensures the continued flow of

more than $438 million in federal funding for public transportation
recipients
across the state.

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