News

February 24, 2005 —A new report finds switches on the MTA's subway tracks weren't always inspected as often as required, putting passengers and crews at risk.

The switches connect different lines of track. They're supposed to be visually inspected every day, to see if they've been jarred loose by trains.

But after an anonymous complaint, the MTA inspector general's office found that on sections of the J and Z lines, the inspections sometimes weren't conducted for eight or nine days at a time in the past two years.

And it found similar problems on other subway lines. The report recommends disciplining the Chief Electrical Officer because, it says, he knew and took no action. But the Transit Authority stands by its safety record. It says the switches are inspected twice a week and every month by different workers.