CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After years of alleged system neglect and mismanagement, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) says it has completed or begun work on all corrective actions outlined in two federal audits.
Brett Cagle, the interim CEO of CATS, provided city officials with an update on two Federal Transit Administration audits during a Transportation, Planning and Development Committee meeting on Monday.
The first audit, focusing on financial management and oversight, was completed earlier this year, according to CATS. Corrective actions were taken on all findings, Cagle said.
The second audit was on the special maintenance review. For that, Cagle broke down eight findings including one that is believed to have caused multiple derailments of the system's Blue Line light rail trains dating back to 2022.
Train derailments
The audit found CATS had missed maintenance and overhauls of the trucks -- or wheel sets -- used on the trains. Siemens, the manufacturer of the trains, is working through all maintenance and the contract allows CATS to do continued maintenance going forward. Cagle said the addition of future maintenance will help make sure the transit system doesn’t find itself in the same position again.
New buses
CATS has ordered 70 new buses, with 35 already delivered, aiming to improve reliability and reduce breakdowns, according to Cagle.
Bridge inspections
CATS had failed to conduct bridge inspections but now says overdue bridge inspections and facility maintenance have been completed.
Why the audits
"I believe that this FTA report signifies that we have reached a stable situation,” Ed Driggs, a Charlotte city council member who oversees the Transportation committee, said. "We asked the FTA to conduct these two studies basically as a means to satisfy ourselves to see if we were in a good place or heading to a good place."
Driggs acknowledged there is still more to be done.
"While CATS has initiated or completed all steps that were identified, there are some maintenance items that will take a while but we are on our way," he said.
Driggs thanked Cagle for addressing these issues, helping restore confidence in CATS and getting the transit system back on the right track. He also said the special working group, which was implemented as an oversight, has fulfilled its goal and probably doesn't need to meet again.