New Jersey Train Going Twice the Speed Limit Before Crash

On Thursday, Federal investigators found that the New Jersey transit train was travelling twice the required speed before the accident. The transit train crashed into the Hoboken Terminal last week.

The train going at 21 mph crashed through the terminal killing one Hoboken woman and injuring 108 people. The train went airborne after the train’s engineer hit the emergency brakes. It happened less than a second before smashing into the terminal, the National Transportation Safety Board said on their report about the deadly mishap.

The NTSB got the information from the data and video recorder in the forward facing camera onboard the train.

Overspeeding

According to NTSB reports, the train’s data record shows it was traveling at 8 mph with the throttle in idle position. The train’s speed maxed out to 21 mph 40 seconds prior to the crash; the station’s limit is only 10 mph.

The train’s throttle returned to the idle position just before the impact. Correspondingly, the train’s engineer stepped on the emergency brake less than a second before the collision. NTSB report said, “The NTSB has not determined probable cause and cautions against drawing conclusions from these facts alone”.

Unfortunately the Hoboken station is not equipped with such early warning system. They solely rely on the “dead man” brake. The “dead man” brake requires the train engineer to keep one foot on the pedal at all times. The emergency brakes will only activate if the foot leaves the pedal anytime during the train’s course.

The deadly crash triggered the New Jersey Transit to change their policy. NJ Transit mandated a second engineer at the front of every train that goes into Hoboken Terminal or Atlantic City Station.

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