FTA Signs Off on SSO Programs in Three More States

March 8, 2019

The Federal Transit Administration officially announced on Feb. 28 that Florida, New Jersey, and New York obtained federal certification of their rail transit state safety oversight or SSO programs, in advance of an important safety deadline.

[Above photo of the Miami Dade Transit Metrorail by Phillip Pessar.]

The FTA noted in a statement that federal law requires states with rail transit systems to obtain certification of their SSO programs by April 15 this year – a deadline that “cannot be waived or extended” – but that with certification of those three programs, 30 states have now achieved 30 certifications.

K. Jane Williams

“We have worked very closely with the states so now 30 of 31 certified ahead of April 15 deadline,” K. Jane Williams, FTA’s acting administrator, noted during remarks at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials 2019 Washington Briefing last week. “We expect the last one, Metrorail, to be certified well before deadline.”

The three SSO programs that received FTA certification last week include:

  • The Florida Department of Transportation, responsible for providing safety oversight of the Miami-Dade Transit Metrorail and Metromover systems, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority TECO Line streetcar system, and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority Skyway system.
  • The New Jersey Department of Transportation, responsible for providing safety oversight of three New Jersey Transit properties: the Riverline hybrid-rail system, the Hudson-Bergen light rail system and the Newark City light rail system. The agency also maintains safety oversight for the Port Authority Transit Corporation Speedline heavy rail system, jointly owned by New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
  • The New York Public Transportation Safety Board, responsible for providing safety oversight of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority New York City Transit heavy rail system and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority Metro Rail light rail system.
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