The US Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded safety certifications to North Carolina (NC), Puerto Rico and Washington under the rail transit State Safety Oversight (SSO) programme.

The certification enables the states to receive new federal transit funds in the future and has brought the total number of approved states to 17, with 31 states yet to be certified.

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The FTA certification has been made mandatory for every state in the US, as part of the SSO programme, by 15 April 2019. The FTA said it will not extend the deadline.

An FTA SSO programme aims to supervise safety at rail transit systems and includes a number of federal statutory requirements for US states to achieve.

“The requirements comprise the establishment of an SSO agency that is financially and legally independent from the rail transit agencies it oversees.”

The requirements comprise the establishment of an SSO agency that is financially and legally independent from the rail transit agencies it oversees.

A state is also required to ensure that its SSO agency adopts and enforces relevant federal and state safety laws, as well as have an investigatory authority and appropriate financial and human resources for the number, size and complexity of the rail transit systems within the state’s jurisdiction.

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The SSO agency should also hire properly trained personnel to conduct safety oversight activities.

The FTA certification has authorised the North Carolina Department of Transportation to provide safety oversight to the Charlotte Area Transit System light rail and streetcar systems.

It has also certified the Puerto Rico Emergency and Disaster Management Bureau to provide safety oversight of the Tren Urbano heavy rail system.

Washington State Department of Transportation has been made responsible for offering safety oversight to the Sound Transit light rail systems and City of Seattle streetcar and monorail systems.