VTA Light Rail Service To Resume By End of July As Workers Eased Back Into Roles Following Massacre
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) light rail service will resume at the end of July, the agency said on Thursday, weeks after a disgruntled employee gunned down co-workers at a VTA light rail yard in the worst mass shooting in Bay Area history.
VTA said the timeline to get trains running again is taking into account the needs of workers to feel safe, secure and confident to return to their jobs, and that some employees may be moving to other positions in their transition back to work.
"Employees will be informed of changes such as interim work locations, new processes or procedures, and security measures that have been put in place," said the agency in a prepared statement. "There may be a need for retraining, in compliance with California Public Utilities Commission regulations, or accommodations to reassign employees to other jobs."
On May 26, VTA worker Samuel Cassidy left his San Jose home and walked into his workplace at the Guadalupe rail yard with an arsenal of weapons and opened fire on his colleagues, killing nine of them before turning the gun on himself.
Part of the work to return the light rail trains to service reportedly includes the rebuilding or remodeling of the two train control buildings where the massacre occurred.
State and local leaders are seeking $20 million in funding to support both the survivors and families of the shooting, as well as the VTA itself.
"Nearly a hundred workers witnessed this tragedy going down first hand," said state Senator Dave Cortese last month. "The long-term mental health impacts of experiencing something like that is truly unknown to most of us, but something that professional assistance and resources can help deal with."