(The Associated Press circulated the following on May 3.)
NEW YORK — Maintenance and construction work on subway tracks will resume Friday after a four-day suspension following the deaths of two transit employees killed on the job, transit officials said.
During the stand down, maintenance workers were retrained on all elements of track safety, but additional training is required for signal and in-house construction company employees, the New York City Transit said in a statement. Those employees will not be allowed on the tracks until training is completed.
Other transit employees, including mechanics, train operators, conductors and cleaners, were retrained in their respective jobs, transit authorities said. The suspension affected 18 projects on 12 subway lines.
Transit worker Marvin Franklin was killed Sunday at about 4 p.m. when he was hit by a G train entered the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in downtown Brooklyn. The workers were doing routine track work as part of a major project on the nearby A and C lines. Another track worker, Jeff Hill, was injured, but is in stable condition. The Sunday accident halted subway service for thousands of riders.
Franklin had more than 20 years of experience, NYC Transit said. The injured one, Jeff Hill, has been a track worker for about two years.
Transit worker Daniel Boggs was killed April 24 by a 3 train at a Manhattan station. He had been part of a team that was setting up lanterns to warn train operators that crews were on the tracks in preparation for scheduled switch and rail replacements.
The Board of Inquiry was investigating the deaths, and transit officials said they will continue talks with the worker’s union on ways to improve current safety rules.
Members of the local 100 Transit Workers Union denounced safety procedures for track workers after the accidents.