NTSB releases train crash findings

Associated Press

NEWARK, N.J.

A New Jersey Transit commuter train sped up and was going twice the 10 mph speed limit just before it crashed into Hoboken’s terminal last week, killing a woman on the platform and injuring more than 100 people, federal investigators said Thursday.

The train’s engineer hit the emergency brake less than a second before the train slammed into a bumping post at the end of the rail line, went airborne and hurtled into the station’s waiting area, according to information released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB said the findings were gleaned from a data recorder and video from a forward-facing camera in the front of the train.

According to the NTSB, the train was traveling at 8 mph and the throttle was in the idle position less than a minute before the Sept. 29 crash. Approximately 38 seconds before the crash, the throttle was increased and train reached a maximum of about 21 mph, the agency said. The throttle went back to idle and the engineer hit the emergency brake less than a second before the crash, investigators said.

NJ Transit trains have an in-cab system designed to alert engineers with a loud alarm and stop locomotives when they go over 20 mph, according to an NJ Transit engineer who wasn’t authorized to discuss the accident and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The engineer said the throttles have eight slots, putting the fourth spot at about half power. The engineer said the throttle should be set to idle, or the first and slowest speed spot, when entering Hoboken Terminal.