Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) Work Group 2 Meeting Minutes Thursday, February 3-4, 2011 Attendees: Matt Bassett Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation – Jeff Volpe Center – Richard Clark California Public Utilities Commission – Dianne Davidson Oak Ridge National Laboratory – Jim Dougherty Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority – Cheryl George Metropolitan Transportation Authority – John Goodworth Regional Transportation Authority – Aaron Jette Volpe Center – Vijay Khawani Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Sean Libberton Federal Transit Administration – Pearson Memphis Area Transit Authority – David Perlman Volpe Center – Iyon Rosario Federal Transit Administration – Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division Rich Inclima – Jim Winseck Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Richard Wong Federal Transit Administration – General Announcements Meeting was held by Webinar due to inclement weather made it impossible for the Workgroup members to assemble in Atlanta as planned. Sean Libberton will be the acting chair of TRACS, as Mike Flanigon recently accepted a position with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Jeff briefly reviewed the progress of Work Group 1, which met during the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. During the meeting, Work Group 1approved its memo to FTA Administrator Rogoff and developed a set of ten recommendations, both of which will be provided to the members of Work Group 2 by March 15 for their review. Revisions to Work Group 2’s Draft Memo to the FTA Administrator All subgroups provided sections of the memo to Volpe. Volpe filled in the outline using these section drafts, though it consolidated much of the submitted text in order to avoid duplication. Work Group 2 discussed edits and revisions to its draft memo based on the following general themes: The memo should clearly state that the essential functions of an effective state safety oversight agency (SSO) are presented in no particular order. The essential function of Onsite Monitoring was removed; day-to-day safety oversight should be the responsibility of the rail transit agency. The work group discussed whether an SSO should be discouraged or prohibited from providing funding to an RTA. The memo was revised to warn that sufficient safeguards should be in place if an SSO funds an RTA, though this issue requires additional discussion. The work group discussed the implications of providing an SSO with the authority to enforce standards and regulations and impose penalties on RTAs in noncompliance. John Goodworth, Rich Inclima and Matt Bassett will rewrite the section Legislative “Strong
Transit Rail Advisory Committee for Safety (TRACS) Work Group 2 Meeting Minutes Thursday, February 3-4, 2011 Attendees: Matt Bassett – Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation Jeff – Volpe Center Richard Clark – California Public Utilities Commission Dianne Davidson – Oak Ridge National Laboratory Jim Dougherty – Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority Cheryl George – Metropolitan Transportation Authority John Goodworth – Regional Transportation Authority Aaron Jette – Volpe Center Vijay Khawani – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Sean Libberton – Federal Transit Administration Pearson – Memphis Area Transit Authority David Perlman – Volpe Center Iyon Rosario – Federal Transit Administration Rich Inclima – Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division Jim Winseck – Metropolitan Transportation Authority Richard Wong – Federal Transit Administration General Announcements Meeting was held by Webinar due to inclement weather made it impossible for the Workgroup members to assemble in Atlanta as planned. Sean Libberton will be the acting chair of TRACS, as Mike Flanigon recently accepted a position with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Jeff briefly reviewed the progress of Work Group 1, which met during the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting. During the meeting, Work Group 1approved its memo to FTA Administrator Rogoff and developed a set of ten recommendations, both of which will be provided to the members of Work Group 2 by March 15 for their review. Revisions to Work Group 2’s Draft Memo to the FTA Administrator All subgroups provided sections of the memo to Volpe. Volpe filled in the outline using these section drafts, though it consolidated much of the submitted text in order to avoid duplication. Work Group 2 discussed edits and revisions to its draft memo based on the following general themes: The memo should clearly state that the essential functions of an effective state safety oversight agency (SSO) are presented in no particular order. The essential function of Onsite Monitoring was removed; day-to-day safety oversight should be the responsibility of the rail transit agency. The work group discussed whether an SSO should be discouraged or prohibited from providing funding to an RTA. The memo was revised to warn that sufficient safeguards should be in place if an SSO funds an RTA, though this issue requires additional discussion. The work group discussed the implications of providing an SSO with the authority to enforce standards and regulations and impose penalties on RTAs in noncompliance. John Goodworth, Rich Inclima and Matt Bassett will rewrite the section “Strong Legislative
TRACS_WG2_mtg_notes_02-03-11.docx