Lagging on Safety System, New Jersey Transit Nixed for Federal Grant

August 27, 2018

New Jersey Transit has been rejected for additional federal money as it scrambles to install a required safety system by year’s end.

The Federal Railroad Administration on Thursday announced more than $200 million in grants for 28 railroads to implement positive train control, but NJ Transit didn’t make the list. An NJ Transit spokeswoman confirmed the agency applied for a grant.

An FRA spokesman didn’t comment Friday on NJ Transit’s application.

In a progress report covering the first six months of 2018, the FRA reported Thursday that NJ Transit is lagging behind all but two other railroads in installing positive train control hardware. Positive train control is an emergency braking system designed to prevent train-to-train collisions and derailments due to excessive speed and trains passing through switches left in the wrong position.

NJ Transit has received a two-year extension until the end of 2020 to complete testing and implementation but must install hardware by the end of 2018.

Topics New Jersey

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