U.S. Senator Bob Menendez says that a tragic 2016 New Jersey Transit rail crash that resulted in one death and more than a hundred injuries, could have been prevented if the beleaguered agency been more vigilant.
Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate’s mass transit subcommittee, released his statement following the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) review.
“It’s clear from the NTSB report that the horrible tragedy in Hoboken could have been prevented had N.J. Transit properly taken into account the inherent risks of both operator fatigue from sleep disorders and potential hazards at end-of-the-line stations,” Menendez said. “Unfortunately, N.J. Transit failed to do both and put its riders at unnecessary risk.”
Menendez promised to push federal officials to fully implement the NTSB recommendations for proper screening of safety-critical employees for treatment of sleep disorders and to install “lifesaving technologies that can prevent crashes by taking the human element out of the equation.”
“New Jerseyans deserve a transit system that is safe and reliable. We owe it to the public that their train is not just on time, but that when they board, they get home to their families safe and sound,” said Menendez, who pledged to introduce legislation to help New Jersey Transit and other agencies fast-track those reforms.