After Hoboken Crash, NJ Transit Now Requires 2nd Set of Eyes in Train Cab

NJ Transit says that a new safety initiative has been put into place for trains entering the Hoboken station. The move comes a week after a train barreled into the station and went through a wall, injuring over 100 passengers and killing a woman on the platform.

The conductor on trains entering Hoboken and Atlantic City must be in the front cab with the engineer to act as a second set of eyes and ears. The rule went into effect Wednesday.

The Hoboken station has not reopened for NJ Transit rail service since the crash.

NJ Transit had no additional comment on the new rule, which was first reported by The New York Times.

Engineer Thomas Mahoney told NTSB investigators he entered the station at the posted 10 mph speed limit but did not recall the crash itself and woke up on the floor of the cab. An NTSB investigator, however, last week told The Associated Press that the train was traveling at two to three times that speed when it hit the wall at the end of Track 5.

It is not clear how the new rule will be implemented into engineer training, as NJ Transit would not comment when asked by WPG's sister station, New Jersey 101.5, about their training process and ongoing processes.

Over the past five years, NJ Transit trains have been involved in more than 150 crashes that caused close to $5 million in damage to equipment and tracks, according to federal data.

According to Brigham McCown, chairman of the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure, and a former U.S. Department of Transportation senior official, there is an initial certification program that’s required for all locomotive engineers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.