Accident

New Jersey Transit Crash: NTSB to Look at Similar 2011 Incident in Hoboken

The deadly crash of a New Jersey Transit train underscores the need for a critical system that’s currently missing on some of America’s busiest railways.

Part of the investigation into Thursday’s crash that killed one person and injured more than 110 others will focus on a safety system that prevents trains from colliding, derailing or speeding, according to Bella Dinh-Zarr, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

“That is absolutely one area that we always look into for every rail accident,” Dinh-Zarr said of the technology, which is called positive train control.

New Jersey Transit trains don’t have it — they operate on a safety system that has been in place for nearly 40 years.