Safety Officials Investigate Recent Hoboken Train Accident

The recent train accident in Hoboken NJ that resulted in more than 100 people sustaining injuries and one person tragically dying is still being investigated by federal safety officials.

On September 29, 2016, an NJ Transit train on the Pascack Valley Line train went past the bumper block on the tracks at Hoboken Terminal and moved through the rail concourse at a very high rate of speed. The train slammed into the wall and caused significant damage to the train station, as well as significant physical injuries to many of the passengers in the front car of the train.

Additionally, the train accident resulted in debris flying through the air. The person who died in the train accident was standing on the platform waiting for the train to arrive when she got struck by debris. The victim was later identified as Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, a 34-year-old Hoboken woman who leaves behind a husband and a child.

At the time of the train crash, the train was packed with commuters who were headed to work during the morning rush hour. Hoboken Terminal is a major transportation hub for people who travel from New Jersey to New York City.

At this time, it is far too early to speculate on what might have caused the train accident. What is known is that the train engineer will be heavily scrutinized in the days and weeks ahead. In accordance with a law that NJ Governor Chris Christie signed off on just last month, an engineer is prohibited from operating a New Jersey Transit train if he has a prior conviction for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) or Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is actively investigating the train crash. One aspect of the accident that investigators will surely be looking at is the train’s lack of positive train control on the brake system. Positive train control is something that some lawmakers and safety experts have wanted installed in all trains operating on US railroad tracks because it can help to slow a train in the event that the engineer faints or otherwise becomes incapable of applying pressure to the brake before arrival at a station. In this case, NTSB investigators will probably need to speak with the engineer in order to determine exactly why the train did not slow down as it approached the Hoboken Terminal.

For additional information, read the following article: Hoboken train crash: 1 dead, more than 100 injured