Experts have long recommend the "Positive Train Control System" (PTS) on all trains, in order to avoid mechanical or human error.
The fatal train crash in Philadelphia that took 8 lives when the train traveled 80 miles per hour (twice the speed limit) and the train crash in Hoboken that injured hundreds and took the life of a young mother, and other similar accidents could have most likely been avoided if this technology had been installed.
With the tragic Hoboken train accident fresh in their minds, the board of directors for NJ Transit voted to install the system to create an automatic braking system.
This system will be leased from New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority for 50 years. In other parts of the country, automatic braking systems have been in place for years.
However, on Amtrak, these systems are still not installed in trains from below Philadelphia heading North.
When asked why these potentially life saving systems are not installed on Amtrak trains across the U.S., including in the North East,two sources agreed that it is due to"lack of funding".
Experts have long recommend the "Positive Train Control System" (PTS) on all trains, in order to avoid mechanical or human error.
The fatal train crash in Philadelphia that took 8 lives when the train traveled 80 miles per hour (twice the speed limit) and the train crash in Hoboken that injured hundreds and took the life of a young mother, and other similar accidents could have most likely been avoided if this technology had been installed.
In 2008, an act of Congress called for the automatic braking system was enacted but has been postponed by train companies.
Updates to follow.
