STATEWIDE — On Friday, U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker wrote a letter on behalf of the New Jersey delegation supporting New Jersey Transit’s (NJT) request for federal funding to advance its implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC) along its rail lines.
This letter comes in the wake of the the train crash at Hoboken Terminal Sept 29 which killed one and injured over 100.
Federal investigators said the train was traveling twice the speed limit when it crashed into Erie Lackawanna Railroad Terminal.
New Jerseys’s Congressional delegation wrote to U.S Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx stating, “As part of the most transit-intensive region in the nation, an investment to expedite the deployment of PTC in New Jersey will serve a large volume of passengers and make a lasting contribution to the safety of travelers throughout our region.”
“PTC has the potential to save lives and reduce injuries by preventing rail crashes from occurring.” The legislators continued stating, “Although we do not yet know the cause, the recent fatal rail crash at Hoboken Station is a stark reminder of the need to improve safety for the nation’s transit riders.”
According to its June filing to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), NJT had made no progress onPTC implementation despite the federal December 2018 deadline.
The FAST Act, a national transportation legislation passed last year, included $199 million in competitive grants for passenger railroads to implement PTC. NJT has requested $10 million to fund the third phase of its Advanced Speed Enforcement System II (ASESII), a system designed to interface with Amtrak’s PTC technology and with future systems planned by the region’s freight railroads. The grant will allow for the purchase of equipment kits, along with the installation, testing, and commissioning of this equipment.
The letter was cosigned by U.S. Representatives Chris Smith Frank Pallone, Rodney Frelinghuysen , Frank LoBiondo, Bill Pascrell Jr, Scott Garrett, Albio Sires, Leonard Lance, Donald Payne Jr, Donald Norcross, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Tom MacArthur.