For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
NJ Transit currently has only tested 66% of its track miles for Positive Train Control (PTC), a federally mandated safety system. The deadline for NJ Transit to have PTC approved and running is December 31, 2020. Eight of NJ Transit’s 12 rail lines are in extended revenue testing, which is testing with passengers on board. Four lines are undergoing field testing.
“NJ Transit is only 2 months away from the Positive Train Control deadline, and we’re concerned that they aren’t going to make it. If they can’t meet the December 31st deadline, the commuters of New Jersey will be in serious trouble. Failure cannot be an option for this agency that already has so many problems. This could mean the loss of millions in federal funds, which are even more critical now during the pandemic. NJ Transit needs federal money to make capital improvements, and if they miss the December deadline they’ll lose it,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “They could also be facing $27,000 in daily fines if they miss the deadline. NJ Transit has had years to work on this, and during the pandemic with ridership down has been the perfect time to work on implementing PTC. There is no excuse.”
Positive Train Control is a computer-based safety system. It uses radios and transponders on tracks and trains to determine if speed limits and signals are obeyed. If a train engineer violates either and doesn’t take action, the PTC system will automatically stop the train.
“This is just another series of disasters and mismanagement for NJ Transit, like robbing the capital funds for operations. Instead of using capital money to expedite Positive Train Control implementation, they have been using that money to pay for operations costs. This has hurt our economy and businesses and caused people to be delayed and get to work late. NJ Transit has only tested 66% of their tracks even though they only have 2 more months before the deadline. If NJ Transit loses federal money because of missing this deadline, they may end up raising fares and cutting back on services,” said Tittel. “We need to make capital improvements in order to make our transit system better. If we miss the deadline for Positive Train Control, we’ll miss out on hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding that we desperately need.”
The Agency is planning to start testing PTC on the 45-mil Coast Line soon, which would represent 80% of NJ Transit’s rail lines in final testing. In October, the agency said that the project was five months off schedule. Now they say that they are on target to meet the deadline.
“Other terminals like New York Penn Station have a Positive Train Control braking system to override the train crew in case of an emergency. Instead of using the $8 billion of federal funding for capital upgrades like automatic braking, NJ Transit used it for tires and to keep the lights on. Unfortunately, if we had these braking systems in place, accidents and tragedies may have been prevented. The system we have now is broken because NJ Transit is robbing $460 million in capital funds for operations and maintenance. This is like robbing our future to pay for current expenses, or taking a second mortgage on a house to buy groceries,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.“Governor Murphy and NJ Transit need to take proper steps so that our trains and buses can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”