BOSTON (WHDH) - MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng and state Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca assured state legislators that the T is making progress in efforts to make its system safer and more reliable Monday as they took part in a hearing before the Joint Transportation Committee.
The hearing was held at the State House and aimed to examine safety within the T.
“We use the system, our families use the system and we are committed to improving the MBTA,” Fiandaca said.
Monday’s meeting came after a Harvard PHD student was injured back on May 1 when a heavy utility box fell on her at Harvard station in Cambridge.
Two months before the utility box fell, a ceiling tile nearly struck a passenger at the same station.
MBTA officials later determined that a corroded support strap led to the utility box falling.
Speaking this week, joint committee Co-Chair William Straus said he wondered how inspectors could have missed the corrosion.
“If they were already looking at ceiling tiles, they’re looking up by definition, why didn’t somebody notice that the strapping on these boxes was off?” he asked.
“That was an immediate response to the ceiling tile and that was to specifically focus on ceiling tiles,” Eng responded.
Eng also said his team is making progress in its work to lift speed restrictions impacting subway riders. He said 99 restrictions had been lifted as of last week, including 42 on the Red Line.
“As we sought to get a handle on the number of speed restrictions, particularly the worst ones, the ability to go in and, if you find one, tackle it quickly is much simpler,” Eng said.
As the T continues its work, federal officials have continued to oversee safety improvements.
On Beacon Hill, the joint committee hoped to hear from personell with the Federal Transportation Administration. When they invited officials, though, the committee got an email back saying no one would be coming to testify.
Straus said the email was similar to a “go take a hike” email that legislators received last year.
“So, I’m disappointed that the FTA has decided to again boycott this hearing,” Straus said.
While he said the T is still facing a labor crunch, Eng said applications have increased 112%.
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