In 1991, Congress passed the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), which added Section 28 to the Federal Transit Act. ISTEA required FTA to establish a state-managed safety and security oversight program for rail transit agencies. As a result, on December 27, 1995, FTA published a set of regulations, called Rail Fixed Guideway Systems; State Safety Oversight (subsequently referred to as FTA’s rule in this report), for improving the safety and security of rail transit agencies. State oversight agencies were required by the rule to approve transit agencies’ safety plans by January 1, 1997, and security plans by January 1, 1998. As part of the FTA rule, FTA officials stated they incorporated APTA’s 1991 Manual for the Development of Rail Transit System Safety Program Plans to describe steps the state oversight agencies should take in developing the program standards that transit agencies would have to meet. In 1995, at the time of the FTA rule’s publication, 5 of 19 states affected by the FTA rule had oversight programs in place for rail transit safety and security, and no oversight agency met all the requirements in the FTA rule. During the first few years of implementation, FTA worked with states to develop compliant programs that addressed FTA’s requirements. Ten years after FTA promulgated the initial rule, FTA published a revision to it in the Federal Register on April 29, 2005. The FTA rule stated that oversight agencies had to comply with the revised rule by May 1, 2006. The revisions address, in part, the needs of a growing oversight community and NTSB’s recommendations arising from transit accident investigations. For example, according to FTA and NTSB, NTSB found that the initial rule did not include the requirement that oversight agencies verify transit agencies are following safe and secure operating procedures by formally documenting how transit agency employees were performing specific work functions in compliance with the transit agency’s rules and procedures—a process known as “proficiency and efficiency testing.” Thus, the revised rule specifies what the state oversight agency must require of rail transit systems regarding such verification, and incorporates into the regulation material previously incorporated by reference to the APTA manual. Finally, the revised rule included additional information on ensuring rail transit security and emergency preparedness. FTA relies on staff in its Office of Safety and Security to lead the State Safety Oversight program—and hired the current Program Manager in March 2006. This manager is also responsible for other safety duties in addition to the State Safety Oversight program. Additional FTA staff within the Office of Safety and Security assist with outreach to transit and oversight agencies and additional tasks. For example, FTA has devoted a Transit Safety Specialist to the program full time; a Training Manager, Data Analyst, and Safety Analyst are also available to assist on an as-needed basis. FTA regional personnel are not formally involved with the program’s day-to-day activities, though officials from several FTA Regional Offices help address specific compliance issues that occasionally arise at transit agencies. Also, staff in at least one FTA Regional Office have taken it upon themselves to take an active role supporting transit agencies and oversight agencies in meeting the program’s requirements. In addition, regional staff help states with new transit agencies establish new oversight agencies, help new transit agencies create safety and security plans, and have helped facilitate disputes between oversight and transit agencies as needed. However, after a transit system begins operations, the program is primarily managed from FTA’s headquarters office. FTA also relies on contractors to do many of the day-to-day activities ranging from developing and implementing FTA’s audit program of state oversight agencies to developing and providing training classes on system safety. FTA’s rule applies to all states with rail fixed guideway systems operating in their jurisdictions. The FTA rule defines a rail fixed guideway system as any light, heavy, or rapid rail system; monorail, inclined plane, funicular, trolley, or automated guideway that is not regulated by FRA and is included in FTA’s calculation of fixed guideway route miles or receives funding under FTA’s formula program for urbanized areas (49 U.S.C. 5336); or has submitted documentation to FTA indicating its intent to be included in FTA’s calculation of fixed guideway route miles to receive funding under FTA’s formula program for urbanized areas (49 U.S.C. 5336). Figure 1 shows examples of the types of rail systems that are included in the State Safety Oversight program. FTA’s rule states that rail systems that are regulated by FRA, such as commuter railroads, are not considered rail transit agencies and are therefore not subject to its rule. In addition, FRA has oversight authority over the safety of portions of rail transit systems that share track or rights- of-way with the general railroad system. Furthermore, the revised rule’s definition of “rail fixed guideway system” includes systems built entirely without FTA capital funds, but that intend to receive FTA formula funding. Examples of these systems include Houston’s METRORail system and the New Jersey Transit RiverLINE system. Rail transit operations that do not receive FTA formula funds are not subject to oversight through FTA’s program. Las Vegas’ monorail line does not receive FTA formula funds and therefore does not fall within the FTA program. However, some of the rail transit systems—including automated airport people-movers and sightseeing tramways—that are not subject to the FTA program may be subject to state-mandated oversight in certain states. FTA and FRA have different regulatory authority and this has implications for their ability to provide oversight. According to statute, FTA cannot regulate safety and security operations at transit agencies except for purposes of national defense or in cases of regional or national emergency. In addition, FTA does not have safety inspectors. FTA may, however, institute nonregulatory safety and security activities, including safety- and security-related training, research, and demonstration projects. In addition, FTA may promote safety and security through grant-making authority. Specifically, FTA may stipulate conditions of grants, such as certain safety and security statutory and regulatory requirements, and FTA may withhold funds for noncompliance with the conditions of a grant. In relation to the State Safety Oversight program, both the authorizing statute and the FTA rule state FTA may withhold urbanized area program funds from states that do not meet the requirements of the program. For example, FTA invoked this authority and withheld federal funding from two states that failed to meet initial deadlines specified in the FTA rule. FTA withheld approximately $95 million in federal funding from one state for its failure to designate a state safety oversight agency and approximately $2.3 million from another state for failure to meet the FTA rule’s implementation deadlines. FRA has broader jurisdiction over safety regulation than FTA. FRA oversees over 500 freight railroads and over 20 commuter railroads, in addition to Amtrak. According to agency officials, FRA can directly enforce safety statutes or regulations against railroads using a “toolkit” of consequences, which vary in severity and are used to compel rail carriers to comply with safety regulations. Most commonly, FRA will issue a civil penalty, or fine, against a railroad not in compliance with a particular regulation. Depending on the infraction, however, FRA can also issue an emergency order (the strongest response to noncompliance) or it can cite a defect (a minor deficiency that needs to be addressed but is not egregious enough to warrant a fine). FRA officials stated that the agency trains and maintains its own cadre of safety inspectors that are authorized to conduct safety inspections at any time, 24 hours per day and 7 days per week. In addition to these inspectors, FRA manages a program called the State Rail Safety Participation Program which allows states to employ their own FRA- certified inspectors who can enforce FRA regulations. Under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), federal agencies should design programs with measurable goals that support the agency’s strategic goals. Congress enacted GPRA to shift agencies’ focus from simply monitoring activities undertaken to measuring the results of these activities. Each agency’s strategic plan is to include a mission statement, a set of outcome-related strategic goals, and a description of how the agency intends to achieve these goals. To measure progress toward the strategic goals, we have previously reported that the agency should also have a plan for collecting data to measure and evaluate program performance. Without measurable goals and evaluation, it is difficult to determine whether the program is accomplishing its intended purpose and whether the resources dedicated to the program efforts should be increased, used in other ways, or applied elsewhere. FTA designed the State Safety Oversight program as one in which FTA, other federal agencies such as DHS, states, and rail transit agencies collaborate to ensure the safety and security of rail transit systems. Under the program, FTA is responsible for developing the regulations and guidance governing the program, auditing state safety oversight agencies to ensure the regulations are enforced, and providing technical assistance and other information; FTA provides funding to oversight agencies in only limited instances under the program. State oversight agencies directly oversee the safety and security of rail transit systems by reviewing safety and security plans, performing audits, and investigating accidents. Rail transit agencies are responsible for developing safety and security plans, reporting incidents to the oversight agencies, and following all other regulations state oversight agencies set for them. In addition to FTA, federal agencies such as FRA, DHS’s Office of Grants and Training, and TSA also have regulatory or funding roles related to rail transit safety and security. FTA officials stated that they used a multi-agency system-safety approach in developing the State Safety Oversight program.