Following Hoboken Train Crash, Blumenthal Questions PTC Exemptions for Terminal Stations

Press Release

After a New Jersey Transit passenger train plowed into a platform at the Hoboken Terminal station -- claiming one life and injuring 110 others -- U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote Federal Railroad Administrator Sarah Feinberg questioning whether the deadly crash could have been prevented by the implementation of Positive Train Control. In his letter, Blumenthal raised serious concerns regarding the FRA's possibly outdated practice of exempting terminal facilities from implementing the life-saving technology. The FRA exempted the Hoboken Terminal station from implementing PTC in 2010, and gave similar waivers to terminals in Waterbury, New Canaan, South Norwalk, and Danbury, as well as Grand Central Terminal.

"While there are more facts to learn in the days to come, this catastrophe raises many questions, including whether Positive Train Control could have prevented such needless death and destruction, and whether FRA should continue to allow an exemption from the PTC mandate for passenger terminals," Blumenthal wrote. "In light of the Hoboken crash, I write to ask whether the exemption for passenger stations remains sensible policy."

Positive train control -- or PTC -- is a life-saving technology first urged by the National Transportation Safety Board in 1970 after a tragic train collision in Darien, Connecticut. PTC is a GPS-based system designed to prevent certain types of train accidents caused by human factors. Since it was first recommended, the absence of PTC has been linked to the deaths of hundreds and the injuries of thousands. In 2008, Congress finally mandated railroads install PTC by the end of 2015; however, Congress extended the deadline to 2020 last year. Blumenthal has fought vigorously to ensure railroads implement PTC immediately and has fought against irresponsible efforts to extend the deadline.

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