NTSB dockets opened for NJ Transit, LIRR crashes

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-In-Chief, Railway Age
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Dockets for the fatal Sept. 29, 2016, New Jersey Transit commuter rail collision in Hoboken, N.J., and the Jan. 4, 2017, Long Island Rail Road collision at the Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn, New York, were opened to the public Sept. 21 by the National Transportation Safety Board as part of its ongoing investigations of the two accidents.

NTSB is also preparing a Special Investigation Report focused on the findings from both the NJ Transit and LIRR accidents. This report will include recommendations based on those findings, NTSB said.

“The commonalities in the accidents—both involving bumping post collisions at the end of a track in a terminal—warrant a singular discussion of the related safety issues,” NTSB said. “Combining each accident report with a Special Investigation Report allows each to be addressed in a single board meeting.”

NTSB has scheduled that board meeting for Feb. 6, 2018, in the NTSB Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, D.C., beginning 9:30 a.m. (EST).

On the same day as the NTSB opened the dockets to the public, NJ Transit issued a press release describing “new rail safety upgrades over the past year.” Among these are new sliding friction bumper blocks as well as a speed control system for trains entering Hoboken Terminal.

The NTSB Preliminary Report on the NJ Transit crash and Operations Group Factual Report on the LIRR wreck can be downloaded from the links below.

NTSB’s docket on NJT, which contains no fewer than 78 downloadable PDFs, can be accessed by clicking HERE.

NTSB’s docket on LIRR, which contains no fewer than 71 downloadable PDFs, can be accessed by clicking HERE.

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