The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's inspector general said Metro-North maintenance crews get little or no supervision and fail to document their work.
The New York Post reported Monday that the transit agency's inspector general also said maintenance crews sometimes don't even receive assignments.
Many of the problems were brought to the railroad's attention in 2001, but were not properly addressed. That audit found a lack of record-keeping for equipment failures and repair work and reported that Metro-North was not keeping track of the work by crews during their shifts.
However, Inspector General Barry Kluger's office said Metro-North's new management "clearly recognizes the seriousness of the issue."
In a statement, Senator Richard Blumenthal called the report's conclusions "alarming and astonishing":
The Inspector General's conclusions are alarming and astonishing. The latest report reveals years of improper oversight of switching and signaling systems, non-existent record keeping, and woefully lax management. We know all too well what happens when Metro-North ignores safety – the system falls apart, like the rail that deteriorated and cracked, causing two trains to collide in Bridgeport in 2013. After so many incidents in recent years, Metro-North should not need another wake-up call. Unacceptably, the railroad’s lack of focus on safety continues today, years after this was first brought to the attention of leadership at MTA and Metro-North. Safety and reliability require supervision systems that set priorities, assign crews to carry out the necessary work, and track the status of these jobs through modern technology. These systems should have been instituted long ago, and I demand that the railroad establish such common sense, safety measures immediately.
Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said the agency is working to fix the problems by establishing a computer-based system of record-keeping to track work that's assigned and completed.
This report includes information from The Associated Press.