Sept. 19- Medford, Mass. Orange line MBTA train ready for their first day back in business after a 30- day safety review shutdown.
Facing a long list of necessary safety, service and reliability improvements, the MBTA will staff up at some of its highest levels.
MBTA General Manager Phil Eng on Thursday announced he appointed four new officials who will be responsible for managing the quality of T stations, agency infrastructure, engineering and capital planning, operations and safety.
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Like Eng, each of the four new major hires previously worked at transportation agencies in New York.
Dennis Varley, a veteran of the Long Island Rail Road, will become the T's first chief of stations. Sam Zhou, another New Yorker who most recently worked for that state's Department of Transportation, will take over as the MBTA's assistant general manager of engineering and capital. Doug Connett, the new chief of infrastructure, joins from a state safety and security consulting firm and also has experience at transit agencies in New York City and Washington, D.C. And Rod Brooks, the MBTA's new senior advisor for capital, operations and safety, also has sizable experience at LIRR.
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Eng announced the hires at an MBTA Board of Directors meeting, saying the agency is "beginning to restructure our organization."
"After having the opportunity to observe day-to-day operations, seeing firsthand some of our infrastructure condition needs and pursuant work, speaking with riders, managers and frontline workers, it is apparent that we need reinforcements," Eng said.
He added, "These new hires bring decades of public transportation experience and public service to us. They value public service, and in their past roles they have successfully tackled similar challenges to ours."
