FTA requests SSOAs report wheel gauge data and provide inspection results
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has published a safety advisory directing State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOA) to report out-of-tolerance wheel gauges on all rail transit rolling stock in revenue service and conduct inspections of wheel gauges at rail fixed guideway public transportation systems (RTAs) in their jurisdiction.
The safety advisory references the Oct. 12 derailment of a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train in which the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is focusing its investigation on “the pressed wheel/axle interface and widening wheel gauge on wheels and axles.”
WMATA has removed all of its 7000-series cars from service. The authority has inspected nearly 3,000 wheel assemblies within the fleet and is working to test the cars and return them to service, while it works with NTSB during the investigation into the derailment.
By Dec. 1, (30 days from the publication date of the advisory), SSOAs must submit the following information on each RTA in its jurisdiction:
- Total fleet size, by mode;
- Wheel gauge inspection protocols (specifically, the routine periodicity of inspections), by mode; and
- The number of vehicles that failed wheel gauge tolerance levels, based on the RTA’s internal and approved procedures, from Oct. 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, by mode.
Additionally, by Jan. 3, 2022, SSOAs should submit to FTA for the rail transit fleet in revenue service at each RTA in its jurisdiction:
- The time frame during which these inspections were conducted (starting no earlier than Oct. 1, 2021);
- The total number of revenue service vehicles inspected; and
- The total number of revenue service vehicles that failed wheel gauge tolerance level based on the RTA’s internal and approved procedures, by mode.
FTA’s Safety Advisory 21-1, Fleet-Wide Inspection of Wheel Gauging on Rail Rolling Stock, was published Nov. 1 and can be found in the Federal Register.
Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.
