CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – Deltrin Harris, the chief of CATS, the Charlotte Area Transit System, rail operations, has been placed on paid administrative leave, officials told CBS 17’s sister station WJZY on Tuesday.
CATS would not comment on the reasoning behind the decision.
Harris’ LinkedIn page said he became the rail operations General Manager in Dec. 2020.
A spokesperson confirmed that Victoria Johnson, a special assistant to the CEO, named Gary Lee as interim rail operations general manager while Harris is on leave.
“Mr. Lee has 25+ years of experience and has previously served as interim rail operations general manager,” the spokesperson wrote. “He brings a wealth of knowledge to his interim role.”
In early April, WJZY also reported some rail workers had “to take part in mandatory overtime as a result of staffing issues” that was discovered in a surprise North Carolina Department of Transportation inspection.
At the same time, it was reported that CATS was under some scrutiny after a 2022 derailment on the system that was not revealed until March of this year.
