THE FEDERAL OVERSIGHT of the MBTA that began amid a series of incidents including derailments and the death of a Red Line passenger has come to an end, Gov. Maura Healey announced Friday.
The Federal Transit Administration issued a letter on September 11 officially closing its safety management inspection of the Department of Public Utilities’ safety oversight management of the MBTA, the governor’s office said. The FTA also transferred its direct oversight of the MBTA that began in 2022 to the DPU.
“With the FTA’s role overseeing special directives concluded, we have officially closed the book on the serious safety issues we saw four years ago,” DPU Commissioner Staci Rubin, who oversees the DPU’s transportation divisions, said. “We made a commitment to invest in the Rail Transit Safety Division, strengthen technical expertise, and build more rigorous oversight processes—and we delivered. This was made possible thanks to our dedicated rail safety staff and support from the Legislature. The DPU is well positioned to ensure safer T operations in the years to come.”
In its letter, the FTA said the DPU has added 13 full-time staff since 2022 and “implemented a comprehensive technical training plan to provide staff the training and qualifications required to perform critical safety oversight activities.” DPU also updated its process for overseeing MBTA safety investigations, safety rules compliance, fatigue management, and safety management.
The announcement came the same week that Healey defended MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, who she hired in 2023, amid reporting on a since-dismissed complaint filed with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination alleging a pattern of inappropriate behavior. The T is paying a $500,000 settlement in connection to Eng’s admission to pulling an employee’s hair.
Healey said he “absolutely” still has confidence in Eng, who is also serving as interim state transportation secretary.
“Those were allegations. That was a matter that was settled. Phil, you know, owned up and was accountable for his conduct. He said that, you know, he regretted his behavior and, you know, he’s, we’ve all moved on from this and there was a resolution there. And, you know, the thing that I like about Phil is he’s a real stand-up guy,” Healey said on GBH Radio. She added, “When I started as governor, we had trains on fire. People were jumping out of trains. Since then, under Phil’s leadership, we got rid of slow zones. We have faster service, more reliable service. Is it perfect? No, not yet. But every day we’re working that way.”
