2017 Triennial On-Site Safety Review of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (Vta)
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2017 TRIENNIAL ON-SITE SAFETY REVIEW OF SANTA CLARA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (VTA) RAIL TRANSIT SAFETY BRANCH SAFETY AND ENFORCEMENT DIVISION CALIFORNIA PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION 505 VAN NESS AVENUE SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102 September 19, 2018 Final Report Daren Gilbert, Manager Rail Transit Safety Branch Safety and Enforcement Division 287047411 2017 TRIENNIAL ON-SITE SAFETY REVIEW OF SANTA CLARA VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The California Public Utilities Commission’s Rail Transit Safety Branch (RTSB) conducted this system safety program review. Staff members directly responsible for conducting safety review and inspection activities include: Daren Gilbert, Rail Transit Safety Branch Program Manager Stephen Artus, Program and Project Supervisor Steven Espinal, Senior Utilities Engineer Rupa Shitole, CPUC Representative to VTA, Utilities Engineer Michael Borer, Rail Transit Operations Safety Section Supervisor Debbie Dziadzio, Senior Transportation Operations Supervisor Matthew Ames, Senior Transportation Operations Supervisor John Madriaga, Track Inspector Salvador Herrera, Track Inspector Michael Rose, Operating Practices Inspector Richard Fernandez, Operating Practices Inspector Adam Freeman, Equipment Inspector (Mechanical) James Matus, Equipment Inspector (Mechanical) Shane Roberson, Signal and Train Control Inspector Claudia Lam, Senior Utilities Engineer Specialist – Risk Assessment Jamie Lau, Utilities Engineer Arun Mehta, Utilities Engineer Howard Huie, Utilities Engineer Joey Bigornia, Utilities Engineer Daniel Kwok, Utilities Engineer Michael Warren, Utilities Engineer i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................. 1 2. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 2 3. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................ 3 VTA Rail System Description ...................................................................................................... 3 VTA 2014 Triennial Review Recommendations Status ........................................................... 7 4. SAFETY REVIEW PROCEDURE ................................................................................................ 8 5. FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................... 9 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. 20 A. Abbreviation and Acronym List ...................................................................................... 20 B. VTA 2017 Triennial Safety Review Checklist Index ...................................................... 21 C. VTA 2017 Triennial Safety Review Recommendations List ......................................... 24 D. VTA 2017 Triennial Safety Review Checklists ............................................................... 26 ii 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The California Public Utilities Commission’s Safety and Enforcement Division (SED), Rail Transit Safety Branch staff (Staff), conducted an on-site system safety program review of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in November 2017. The review focused on verifying VTA’s implementation of its System Safety Program Plan (SSPP), as well as VTA’s compliance with State and Federal rules and regulations. This report details Staff’s investigatory actions, findings, and recommendations. The review revealed areas of non-compliance, as discussed below. An opening conference meeting between VTA personnel and Staff immediately preceded the initial on- site review activities, which began on Monday, November 6, 2017. The review continued through November 17, 2017. A post-review conference with VTA personnel took place on December 14, 2017, with Staff providing VTA personnel with a summary of all findings. Staff identified 38 findings of non- compliance. From these findings, Staff issued 26 recommendations for corrective actions. Section 2 of this report, titled Introduction, provides a summary of the authority under which the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or Commission) performs the triennial reviews and presents a brief chronology of the review. Section 3, Background, includes a description of the VTA system. Section 4 explains the procedures used by Staff during the System Safety Review. Staff’s 38 findings of non-compliance and 26 recommendations are presented in Section 5, organized by source checklist numbers. Finally, the Appendices include a list of abbreviations and acronyms used in the report and checklists, tabulated findings and recommendations, and the complete set of review checklists with summaries of all review activities and the original comments, findings, and recommendations. This report reflects Staff’s triennial safety review of VTA. The VTA on-site triennial security review report is contained in a separate Report and is brought before the Commission for approval in a separate Resolution. 1 1 Staff’s security review and report, “2017 Triennial Security Review of Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority,” is being brought before the Commission concurrently in Resolution ST-209. 1 2. INTRODUCTION The Commission’s General Order (GO) 164-E2 Rules and Regulations Governing State Safety Oversight of Rail Fixed Guideway Systems, and the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Rule, Title 49 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 659, Rail Fixed Guideway Systems: State Safety Oversight, require the designated State Safety Oversight Agencies (SSOAs) to perform a review of each rail transit agency’s system safety program at a minimum of once every three years. The triennial review verifies compliance and evaluates the effectiveness of each rail transit agency’s SSPP and assesses the level of compliance with GO 164-D and other Commission safety requirements. Staff conducted the previous on-site safety review of VTA in November 2014. On October 6, 2017, Staff advised the VTA General Manager by a letter of the pending review for scheduling purposes. The letter included 39 checklists that served as the basis for the review. Staff conducted an opening conference on November 6, 2017 with the VTA General Manager, Executive Management of Transit System Compliance, Superintendents, Supervisors and Protective Services. Staff conducted the on-site safety inspections and records review on November 6-17, 2017. At the conclusion of each review activity, Staff provided VTA personnel with a verbal summary of the preliminary findings and discussed potential recommendations for corrective actions. On December 14, 2017, Staff conducted a post-review exit meeting with VTA’s executive and department managers. Staff provided the attendees a summary of the findings of non-compliance from the 39 checklists and discussed the need for corrective actions where applicable. 2 GO 164-D was in effect at the time Staff initiated the review. It has since been updated by GO 164-E. There is no significant difference between GO 164-D and GO 164-E with respect to the requirements regarding Triennial Safety and Triennial Security Reviews for Rail Transit Agencies. 2 3. BACKGROUND VTA Rail System The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is an independent special transit district that provides sustainable, accessible, community-focused transportation options that are innovative, environmentally responsible, and promote the vitality of the region. VTA provides bus, light rail, and paratransit services, as well as participates as a funding partner in regional rail service including Caltrain, Capitol Corridor, and the Altamont Corridor Express. As the county’s congestion management agency, VTA is responsible for countywide transportation planning, including congestion management, design and construction of specific highway, pedestrian, and bicycle improvement projects, as well as promotion of transit-oriented development. The Board of Directors has 18 members, including six ex-officio members, all of whom are elected officials appointed to serve on the Board by the jurisdictions they represent. Fifteen Directors are city council members and three are county Supervisors. Twelve Directors serve as voting members, with six Directors serving as alternates. The ex-officio members are non-voting members and three of them represent Santa Clara County on the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC). VTA currently operates an urban transit service with a fleet of diesel, hybrid diesel-electric buses and light rail vehicles within Santa Clara County. VTA’s service coverage is 346 square miles, serving 15 cities in Santa Clara County with a population of nearly 2 million. Historic trolley service may be provided in the downtown San Jose Transit Mall on a seasonal basis. The VTA rail system consists of the Guadalupe, Tasman West, Tasman East, Capitol and Vasona Lines (See VTA Light Rail System Map) with two other proposed extensions. The total operating system is about 42.2 miles with 61 Light Rail Stations. The average weekday ridership of the light rail system was approximately 29,262 passengers per day in Fiscal Year 2017. 3 VTA LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM MAP Guadalupe Line The 21-mile Guadalupe light rail line began service in 1991, which extends from south San Jose, into downtown and continues to employment centers of north San