NJ Transit Racing to Meet PTC Deadline By End of Year

By
Stephen Nessen
WNYC News | Dec 1, 2020

Railroads across the country have until the end of the year to install a life-saving technology known as positive train control or PTC. Most have met the deadline; NJ Transit is cutting it close.

The Federal Railroad Administration, which oversees the program, says NJ Transit is the only railroad in the country at risk of not completing the work on time.

PTC slows trains down at dangerous curves and could've prevented crashes like the one in Hoboken in 2016.

A spokesperson for NJ Transit says it is on track to complete the installation, but wouldn’t offer an update. At the end of September, less than half of the tracks had PTC up and running.

If NJ Transit doesn't complete the work by December 31, it could be fined $29,000 a day.

The federal agency says it will not grant an extension.

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