Federal authorities have formally closed a years-long review of how Massachusetts oversees safety issues at the MBTA, effectively handing the keys back to the state for subway oversight.
The move marks a major milestone for the MBTA and Massachusetts regulators in their effort to turn around the transit system’s safety record, after four years of federal scrutiny over a string of dangerous incidents and a critical breakdown in state-level supervision.
“When I took office, the T was in a dire state. After years of underinvestment, workers and passengers alike didn’t feel safe on the rails,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement. “Today, the T is safer, more reliable and more affordable for the riders who use it every day.”
The Federal Transit Administration first launched a review of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, or DPU, in 2022. The state agency is responsible for overseeing safety compliance at the MBTA, but it came under intense scrutiny following a series of dangerous incidents, including the April 2022 death of a Red Line passenger who was dragged by a train after getting his arm stuck in a train car door.
Federal regulators released a scathing review of the DPU and MBTA that summer, highlighting severe operational and managerial breakdowns that allowed safety issues to persist at the transit agency. Inspectors pointed to extreme staff fatigue, deteriorating infrastructure and lapsed certifications for employees in critical safety roles.
As a result of its findings, the Federal Transit Administration issued a series of directives legally requiring the MBTA and state regulators to fix their safety issues, improve staffing and ramp up state-level oversight.
In the months that followed, even as federal regulators maintained strict monitoring of the T’s safety program, there were more dangerous incidents — including a dramatic fire on the Orange Line that forced 200 passengers to evacuate a train that was crossing the Mystic River.
The tide began to turn for the transit agency in 2023, when the newly elected Healey appointed Phil Eng as general manager of the MBTA. Eng launched a series of shutdowns across the system, during which crews replaced nearly 140,000 feet of rail, conducted safety upgrades and lifted speed restrictions.
At the same time, according to Healey’s office, state regulators “took significant steps to overhaul its MBTA oversight,” including the creation of a new Rail Transit Safety Division tasked with inspecting subway cars, stations and carhouses.
The Federal Transit Administration’s decision to close its review represents a big win for both state regulators and the T. State officials have been working for several years now to improve the subway system’s image and convince riders to come back after ridership dipped dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a huge accomplishment for the T and the DPU, and I am extremely proud of this milestone,” said Eng, who currently serves at Interim Secretary of Transportation for Massachusetts in addition to his role heading the T. “As we take this moment to celebrate this achievement, we are grateful to showcase how important investing in our workforce, tracks, vehicles, and infrastructure is to ensure the MBTA is the world-class system our region can be proud of.”
