Railroad Forums 

  • NJT HOBOKEN TERMINAL ACCIDENT THREAD

  • Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.
Discussion related to New Jersey Transit rail and light rail operations.

Moderators: lensovet, Kaback9, nick11a

 #1413335  by kilroy
 
The family of the one victim killed in the crash has filed claims for damages in order to sue.
The family of the 34-year-old attorney killed while on the platform at Hoboken Terminal on September 29th when a speeding train plowed into the station, has taken legal action against those responsible, according to claims filed with New Jersey Transit (NJT). The train's engineer, Thomas Gallagher, and the NJT employees involved in the decision not to implement necessary safety technology and improvements, including positive train control (PTC) despite two similar accidents at the same location, are named in the filings.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases ... 82056.html
 #1418965  by Defiant
 
Does anyone have any idea if NJT actually plans to restore Hoboken terminal to full operation? It has been at least four months since the crash and a number of tracks are still out of service. More importantly from the daily commuters point of view, we have to go from one set of open tracks to another set through the terminal building. This creates substantial bottlenecks and inconvenience.

I see absolutely no work being done on the closed parts of the canopy and the tracks when I am in Hoboken. Maybe it is not noticeable... Anyone has any idea of what the plans are for this section?

I did write to NJT customer service. This is the pathetic response I received last Friday after about a month of waiting:

"I am replying to your feedback of 12/19/2016 regarding subject: Repairs on the Hoboken Terminal after the crash.
Thank you for contacting NJ TRANSIT regarding the Hoboken Rail Station.
I apologize for my delay in responding as well as for the circumstances you describe. Your correspondence was documented and made available to the appropriate supervisory personnel for review. Please be assured NJ TRANSIT is working hard to complete the necessary repairs at the Hoboken Terminal. Unfortunately we are unable to provide a definitive date for completion at this time.
Again, thank you for contacting us and for your continued support of NJ TRANSIT.


Sincerely,
<Name Redacted>
NJ TRANSIT Customer Service Team "
Last edited by Jeff Smith on Sun Feb 05, 2017 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total. Reason: Name redacted of employee / not a public figure
 #1418980  by glennk419
 
It is likely that the site is being held for legal and liability purposes, which means it could remain in that state indefinitely. Given the amount of damage, there is also undoubtedly a substantial amount of engineering work to ensure that the eventual restoration is performed safely and properly, although that could be done concurrently with the legal hold. It is also quite likely that the train set involved, or at a minimum the cab car (which will probably be a write off) and locomotive are also being held for the same legal reasons. I'm sure that no one more than NJT would like to see this entire incident put behind them.
 #1418998  by Backshophoss
 
As long as there're Lawsuits pending,the Legal Dept "hold" on repairs/scrapping,etc prevents anything happening untill
everything is settelled, it's all considered "evidence" for the court proceedings.
 #1420652  by Silverliner II
 
philipmartin wrote:Here's a New York Post articles on the awaiting repairs theme. http://nypost.com/2017/02/10/hoboken-te ... dly-crash/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Speaking of which, I saw the trainset in question parked on the back side of the MMC, visible only to us guys running freight along the P&H line. The consist, locomotive and all, was still intact, with a tarp covering most of the cab car damage.
 #1420697  by Silverliner II
 
jackintosh11 wrote:So was the cab car able to be moved on its own wheels?
Yes.
 #1420776  by litz
 
That's interesting ... that would seem to indicate as the bumper block rotated under the front of the cab car, it actually propelled the entire thing upwards, with enough clearance for the wheelset to land on the terminal deck.

One would think in a case like this, the car body would end up on the deck, and the edge of the deck would "clean the frame" of everything underneath the frame rails (bogeys, accessories, etc).

The physics of an accident sequence like this is fascinating ... so much force involved in so many different directions.
 #1526255  by ThirdRail7
 
A few updates:




It seems Metro-North is covering the liability for its passengers from New York State.


https://www.nj.com/traffic/2019/11/...k ... ansit.html

Woman injured in Hoboken train crash gets $1.5M from Metro North
The New Jersey Law Journal first reported the Metro North settlement with......who sued the agency and Metro North. (NJ Transit runs Metro North west of the Hudson River commuter service under a contract.)


Metro North officials confirmed it is covering the cost of the settlement because Story got on the train in New York state.

The engineer involved in the collision has been reinstated to his position.

https://www.nj.com/traffic/2019/09/...a ... -back.html

Engineer with sleep apnea who caused fatal Hoboken train crash gets his job back

Please allow a brief fair use quote.
By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The engineer who was operating an NJ Transit train that crashed in Hoboken Terminal in September 2016, killing a woman walking through the station and injuring 108, will return to work after winning an appeal.

Thomas Gallagher, who blacked out at the controls on Sept. 29, 2016, due to undiagnosed sleep apnea, won his arbitration case on Aug. 28 and will be reinstated as an engineer, as long as he meets medical conditions and continues sleep apnea treatment. He was suspended and subsequently fired after the crash, a decision that he appealed.
They say he will be confined to the yard but I don't know if that will hold up if NJT doesn't have a "yard engineer" position.
Gallagher will resume his duties working in train yards, but will not be in passenger service, the board ruled. While he isn’t banned from operating trains with passengers on board, arbitrators left that decision up to NJ Transit. Agency officials must be satisfied Gallagher has “demonstrated strict compliance with the conditions of his reinstatement.”
 #1526310  by sullivan1985
 
ThirdRail7 wrote: Tue Nov 26, 2019 6:37 pm
They say he will be confined to the yard but I don't know if that will hold up if NJT doesn't have a "yard engineer" position.
Gallagher will resume his duties working in train yards, but will not be in passenger service, the board ruled. While he isn’t banned from operating trains with passengers on board, arbitrators left that decision up to NJ Transit. Agency officials must be satisfied Gallagher has “demonstrated strict compliance with the conditions of his reinstatement.”
The engineer in question has more than enough seniority to hold any yard assignment of his choice.
  • 1
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30