Objectives

To determine whether the Metro-North Railroad (Metro-North) performed a systemwide risk assessment to identify potential risks to its system from extreme weather conditions and flooding and developed plans to mitigate their effects. We also determined whether Metro-North tested and updated the plans and inspected/maintained the equipment to ensure they can be deployed when needed. The audit covered the period from April 2009 to May 2023.

About the Program

Metro-North is a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) agency that provides commuter railroad service to customers throughout New York and Connecticut on its Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines, and in New York’s Orange and Rockland counties on its Port Jervis and Pascack Valley Lines.

In September 2007, the MTA established the Blue Ribbon Commission on Sustainability and the MTA (Blue Ribbon Commission) to develop sustainability-related recommendations for the MTA and its operating agencies. In April 2009, the MTA released the Blue Ribbon Commission’s Final Report, which predicted that, without an adequate investment in adaptation measures, climate change will have even greater adverse impacts on the MTA’s vital infrastructure, operations, and revenue streams in the future. The primary risks to the metropolitan region and the MTA service area include more extreme precipitation events, coastal storms and storm surges, flooding, and, in the longer term, rising sea levels.

Severe winter weather can create hazardous travel conditions throughout the Metro-North region and possibly hamper Metro-North’s ability to provide regular train services. Metro-North territory is particularly vulnerable to high winds due to trees and overhead power lines. Flooding from hurricanes and tropical storms can cause Metro-North to suspend service.

Metro-North has developed a Winter Storm Plan and a Coastal Storm and Hurricane Plan, which include standard operating procedures to be implemented prior to a storm’s arrival, during the storm, and for recovery and post-recovery.

Key Findings

• Metro-North did not perform a systemwide risk assessment. Further, Metro-North does not have procedures to address all types of severe weather events and did not perform an assessment of its Harlem Line related to flooding due to heavy rains.
• Metro-North’s Winter Storm Plan and Coastal Storm and Hurricane Plan do not account for weather conditions such as extreme cold/heat, tornadoes, heavy rains, and lightning.
• We found that equipment designed to be deployed during severe weather events was not always inspected, tested, or maintained in compliance with Metro-North procedures and plans. Specifically:
  • 15 of 28 (54%) snow melters (used to heat the area around switches to keep them operative during inclement weather) were not inspected, as required. Four were not inspected in both documented winter seasons, and 11 were not inspected in the 2021-2022 winter season.
  • 13 of 15 (87%) pieces of snow-fighting equipment that required a preventive maintenance (PM), including a backhoe tractor and air compressors, did not have one for each of the three seasons in our sample.
  • 50 of 65 (77%) sampled pieces of equipment such as a snow tractor, snow blowers, and snow brooms did not receive a PM. While Metro-North officials stated that equipment valued at less than $5,000 does not require a PM because it is more economical to replace the equipment than to repair it, they did not provide documentation to support this statement. Moreover, cost should not be the only consideration because, without PM, the equipment may not work as intended during a weather emergency.

Key Recommendations

• Conduct periodic systemwide assessments of the Metro-North system to observe new or possible increased weather-related risks that could affect the system.
• Revise or develop weather plans that include lightning, extreme heat/cold, heavy rains, and tornadoes.
• Ensure that all required PM events are completed, and update and review the equipment database to ensure equipment maintenance, testing, and inspections are recorded.