NJ Transit on track to complete train safety system on time 4 years after deadly Hoboken crash

It has been four years since a deadly train crash at Hoboken Terminal, and New Jersey Transit officials say that it will meet the federal deadline to install a safety system that could prevent similar types of crashes.

News 12 Staff

Oct 1, 2020, 11:35 AM

Updated 1,547 days ago

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It has been four years since a deadly train crash at Hoboken Terminal, and New Jersey Transit officials say that it will meet the federal deadline to install a safety system that could prevent similar types of crashes.
That 2016 crash left one woman dead and injured 100 people when an NJ Transit train went over a bumper and slammed into the terminal waiting platform.
It was later determined that the train was going double the speed limit when it crashed and that the engineer had undiagnosed sleep apnea.
New Jersey Transit has since changed its policies on testing for and working with sleep apnea.
It was also learned that the train involved in the crash did not have a positive train control safety system, which automatically brakes a train before it reaches the end of the tracks. NJ Transit has until Dec. 31 to get the system installed. According to a recent report, the agency expects to meet that deadline.
The report states that 99% of PTC hardware is complete and that the agency is currently testing the system on all rail lines.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the crash was most likely caused by the engineer’s fatigue due to his sleep apnea. The crash led to several lawsuits, faulting NJ Transit for failing to treat the engineer’s condition and the lack of PTC.