CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Area Transit System's chief of rail operations is on paid administrative leave, the agency confirmed Tuesday, as it works to regain public trust following multiple derailments, employee safety concerns and staffing shortages that have hindered the city's public transportation operations.
Deltrin Harris joined CATS in December 2020 after spending 18 years with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, according to a public social media account.
CATS has confirmed at least two Blue Line derailments since 2022. CATS leadership faced scrutiny in the 2022 incident because the agency did not escalate the issue to city leadership and failed to inform the public sooner. The agency went nearly a year before informing the public of the derailment incident.
Interim CEO Brent Cagle promised to shift the agency's culture to be more open and transparent in the wake of the second derailment.
Cagle said the city of Charlotte and CATS are working aggressively to get the maintenance and repairs on all trains up-to-date to prevent future derailments.
No passengers or operators were injured when a middle set of wheels came off the track in 2022. City Manager Marcus Jones was only notified of the derailment by a text message from former CATS CEO John Lewis, who told Jones that a bus bridge was in place while CATS investigated the issue. Jones missed that text message, according to his own testimony earlier this year.
Jones said he felt the need to disclose the missed text message publically in an effort to rebuild trust in the transit system's transparency. He also said any disciplinary action he would face would be decided upon by the city council.
However, when a CATS light rail train derailed again on May 10 of this year, CATS only publically disclosed the incident after news reports of the derailment were published the next day. In this incident, the train was not carrying passengers when it derailed in the maintenance yard in Charlotte's South End neighborhood.
Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
SUBSCRIBE: Apple Podcasts || Spotify || Stitcher || Google Podcasts
All of WCNC Charlotte's podcasts are free and available for both streaming and download. You can listen now on Android, iPhone, Amazon, and other internet-connected devices. Join us from North Carolina, South Carolina, or on the go anywhere.