Federal agency says lax safety practices are putting New York City subway workers at risk

NEW YORK (AP) — The agency that runs New York City’s subway system is putting track workers at risk by failing to follow its own safety rules, federal authorities said in an audit issued this week.

The Federal Transit Administration said in a special directive Tuesday that there is “a substantial risk of death or personal injury” because of unsafe conditions and practices in the subway system.

The FTA, an arm of the federal Department of Transportation, reviewed safety practices at New York City Transit after a subway worker was dragged under a train and killed on Nov. 29, 2023, and another worker was critically injured on June 6, 2024.

The FTA says there were 38 close calls in which a subway worker was almost killed or injured in 2023, up from 24 close calls in 2022.

Half of the near misses involved transit workers failing to follow established rules for flagging, the job of alerting train operators that workers are on the track, FTA said.

The FTA is demanding that New York City Transit conduct a comprehensive safety assessment, submit a mitigation plan and undertake weekly internal monitoring of its safety compliance.

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