The 1985 crash was said to have been caused by a lubricant that had been applied to the tracks to test train wheels. Similar accidents Ī similar accident occurred at the same station in December 1985, injuring 54 people. In April 2019, NJ transit stated that all repairs would be completed by the end of 2019, which they succeeded in doing. In a February 2019 statement, NJ Transit stated that permanent repairs and renovations will begin in March and last for approximately one year. The planning for permanent repairs to the concourse roof and supports were ongoing during this time. Track 6 reopened for service in June 2017 and track 5 reopened for service sometime around September 2018. The pedestrian concourse reopened on May 14, 2017.
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Full service was not restored until October 17 Tracks 5 and 6, where the train crashed, remained closed while repairs were carried out. The Hoboken Terminal remained closed until October 10, when Tracks 10 through 17 were reopened with a modified service schedule. In addition NJ Transit also mandated a reduction in the approaching speed limit into the train station from 10 miles per hour to 5 miles per hour. Aftermath įollowing the train crash, New Jersey Transit issued new regulations requiring that engineers must be accompanied by at least one other crew member as they pull a train into Hoboken Station. It is believed newer bumpers with hydraulic shock absorbers and sled-like friction shoes would have reduced the impact. Hoboken Terminal has the original steel-and-concrete bumpers from when it was opened in 1907. An official briefed on the investigation told The Associated Press under condition of anonymity that the investigation is considering sleep apnea as a possible cause of the crash. Gallagher, aged 48 and with 18 years experience as a train engineer, said he had no memory of the crash and was lying on the cab floor when he woke up after the impact. NJ Transit has a sleep apnea screening program but, despite that, a physical exam in July 2016 had cleared Gallagher for duty. In November 2016, attorney Jack Arsenault said his client, the train engineer Thomas Gallagher, suffered from severe sleep apnea which was undiagnosed until after the crash.
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On October 6, 2016, the train was removed from the station area for further investigation. The engineer attempted the emergency braking procedure less than a second before the crash. According to its report, 38 seconds prior to the crash, the train's engineer accelerated from 8 mph and was traveling at 21 mph on impact, more than twice the speed limit of 10 mph. On October 6, 2016, the NTSB released its findings based on the event recorder and video recorders. The second black box was successfully recovered in the first week of October 2016. The day following the crash, investigators retrieved one of the two train event recorders (black boxes) from the wreckage, but it was unusable. According to the federal investigators, the engineer "felt well rested and was unaware of any mechanical problems in the moments before the accident." Īmong other things, the NTSB investigation will attempt to determine whether or not positive train control could have prevented the accident.
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The engineer lacked any memory of the accident itself. Although injured, the train engineer cooperated with the investigation, and both the engineer and the train conductor were interviewed by investigators. An NTSB "go team" was sent to the scene, and the Federal Railroad Administration also dispatched investigators. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the accident. NTSB Vice Chairman Bella Dinh-Zarr and other NTSB employees outside Hoboken terminal. Comet V Cab Car #6036 was leading the train at the time of the accident, with locomotive #4214 pushing from the rear. Train #1614 was a local, making all stops on the Pascack Valley Line. Train #1614 consisted of four NJ Transit Comet V passenger cars (cab car #6036 and 3 coaches) and one NJT GP40PH-2B locomotive (#4214). It is unclear whether PTC would have prevented the crash. The train involved in the crash reportedly did not have an automatic brake system using positive train control (PTC), which is used to slow the train in case the engineer does not apply the brake in time. One witness reported that the train "never slowed down" as it entered the station, which is located at the end of the line. The cab car sustained major structural damage. Entering the Hoboken terminal around 8:45 a.m., the train went over the bumper block and through the rail concourse, coming to rest at the wall right before the station's waiting area. Pascack Valley Line train #1614 left the Spring Valley station in Spring Valley, New York, at 7:23 a.m. Cab car #6036 resting against the terminal wall after the crash