Voters will help decide the fate of America?s public transportation When a commuter train crashed into the platform at the Hoboken, New Jersey, station earlier this month, Governor Chris Christie called it an ?extraordinary tragedy.? Now reports have confirmed that the crash, which killed a 34-year-old woman and injured over 100 passengers and employees, could easily have been avoided by safety improvements deferred by political decisions.
With elections coming up that will determine funding sources for many transportation projects across the country, how can transit systems make sure that what happened in New Jersey doesn't happen to them"
One of the most scathing accounts of the Hoboken crash came from engineer Karl Ward, who wrote a widely shared post on Facebook about being injured. In his post?warning, there?s a fairly graphic image of his injuries?he specifically called out Christie for allowing the incident to happen:
Of all the things that happened, in the end I am most furious with the Republican governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, who has made a career of dismantling major transit projects and reducing capital investments in New Jersey's public transit systems. Under Christie's watch, our transit system has failed to secure the funds to implement train safety measures like Positive Train Control, a federally mandated safety technology that could have prevented this accident.
In addition, Governor Christie has used this crisis as a cover to raise th...