Tracks reopen at Hoboken Terminal after deadly train crash Sept. 29
HOBOKEN, N.J. (AP) >> Rail service was fully restored Monday at a New Jersey transit station damaged last month when a train traveling more than twice the speed limit crashed, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 other people.
The return of full service into Hoboken Terminal comes less than three weeks after the crash.
Six more tracks opened at 4 a.m. Monday. New Jersey Transit also noted that the station’s ticket office has resumed operations.
However, tracks 5 and 6 will remain closed as the transit agency continues repairs.
Trains entering the station will now reduce their approach speed from 10 mph to 5 mph for added safety, NJ Transit Executive Director Steven Santoro said.
In the Sept. 29 crash, the train’s data recorder showed it going twice the 10 mph speed limit just before it slammed through a bumper at the end of the track and dislodged an overhead canopy, showering debris onto the train.
New Jersey’s congressional delegation sent a letter on Friday to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx asking the government to fulfill the transit agency’s $10 million request to help it install the GPS-based positive train control system. The transit agency said in a filing in June that it has not made any additional progress on installing the system while approaching a December 2018 deadline.
The Democratic leaders of New Jersey’s state Legislature announced that they will conduct a joint investigation into the agency and safety concerns.