Nine of the probationary conductors have been fired. Three others, who were Metro-North employees, were sent back to their original jobs, MTA officials say. And now this alleged cheating is under investigation.
Conductors on Metro-North trains must pass a rigorous series of tests as part of their training, railroad officials say.
But, in the latest class of 12 would be conductors, MTA officials suspect there was cheating, leading to swift punishment.
"We take this very seriously. We have disbanded the class and we have referred the matter to MTA inspector general," said Aaron Donovan, MTA spokesperson.
Some members of the class, according to published reports, may have cheated on an important safety test given two months ago. It allegedly involved a cell phone picture of the exam.
MTA officials say they learned of the incident two weeks ago.
"This is not reassuring to passengers who depend on conductors for safety," said Jim Cameron, of Commuter Action Group.
Jim Cameron with Commuter Action Group wonders if this was an isolated incident or if it has happened before.
"This exam dealt with safety issues, the speed the train should operate what to do when things go wrong and power has failed. So shame on these conductor trainees for cheating on such an important exam," Cameron said.
"The MTA inspector general, which is a separate entity apart from MTA management, will investigate this fully to determine what happened," Donovan said.
Safety within the Metro-North system has been a recent focus of concern following several incidents including the deadly train derailment late last year.
The railroad's new president, Joseph Giulietti, has held a series of public meetings to discuss railroad safety and reliability issues.
"Monitoring and accountability is important and it's a critical public safety issue but they still need to do the investigation," said Maurice Cox, a commuter.
Hearing of this most recent incident, riders say they cannot help but be concerned.
"We trust they take care of these things. We're hearing about it, it's a matter of faith, isn't it?" said Beth Gersh-Nesic, a commuter.
"I commute every day, so I want to know the trains are safe," said Sarah Hanna, a commuter.