Skip to main content

Foxx proposes new rule to increase safety of rail transit systems

At the end of his four-day Grow America tour, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a proposed rule to increase oversight responsibilities of State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) by replacing the existing outdated regulatory framework with one designed to better evaluate the effectiveness of a rail transit agency’s system safety program. The proposed rule, issued by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), would give states more resources to increase oversight over rail transit systems. It
February 24, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
At the end of his four-day Grow America tour, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a proposed rule to increase oversight responsibilities of State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) by replacing the existing outdated regulatory framework with one designed to better evaluate the effectiveness of a rail transit agency’s system safety program.  

The proposed rule, issued by the 2023 Federal Transit Administration (FTA), would give states more resources to increase oversight over rail transit systems. It would require adoption and enforcement of federal and state safety laws and require SSOAs to be financially and legally independent of the rail transit systems they oversee.

“We must improve, modernise and transform rail transit safety oversight to provide the increased level of safety expected by the millions of passengers who use rail transit every day,” said Foxx. “Rail transit is a safe travel option, but we have an obligation and opportunity to make it even safer.”

 “FTA appreciates the continued cooperation and engagement of our state and rail transit industry partners as we take this major step forward toward a new safety regulatory framework,” said FTA acting administrator Therese McMillan. “We drafted the proposed rule to ensure it allows for the flexibility and scalability needed to provide effective safety benefits for passengers and employees of transit agencies of all sizes and operating environments.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US Automated Vehicle Framework to 'slash red tape'
    May 7, 2025
    NHTSA insists safety will be prioritised and 'unnecessary' regulation removed
  • Real time active traffic management improves travel times
    July 17, 2012
    Traffic management centres (TMC) have traditionally served to provide surveillance and responses to traffic incidents and recurring and non-recurring changes in road networks. Typically, a TMC collected field data from the roadway and transit infrastructure and provided the integration necessary for operators to see what was happening and then coordinate a response. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) guided operators on how to respond to a given situation. It eventually became impractical for TMC operat
  • USDOT seeks applications for new FASTLANE grant program
    February 29, 2016
    The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) is soliciting applications for the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program, a new program in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to fund critical freight and highway projects across the country. The FAST Act authorises US$800 million in funding for the FASTLANE program for fiscal year 2016, with 25 per cent reserved for rural projects, and 10 per cent
  • ITSA’s Shailen Bhatt looks to the future
    March 6, 2018
    The new boss of ITS America is fizzing with ideas. Shailen Bhatt talks to Adam Hill about the need to rebrand the ITS industry, how technology can leverage tax dollars – and where the Star Wars universe fits in to his philosophy. Shailen Bhatt has a big job on his hands. The CEO and president of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America is the second to hold the post in two years following the resignation last July of his predecessor Regina Hopper. It has not been the easiest time for the