A train that smashed into the station in Hoboken, New Jersey during rush hour on Thursday likely wasn't equipped with a technology called positive train control that could have prevented the derailment.
Positive train control is a speed-limiting technology that is built to "automatically stop a train before certain types of accidents occur," according to the website of the Association of American Railroads. Those accidents include train collisions and derailments.
SEE ALSO:Social media documents New Jersey train crashing into station during rush hourThursday's accident involving a New Jersey Transit train left at least one person dead and injured around 100 others. New York Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney tweeted Thursday that having the technology installed could have saved lives.
Although reason for crash in #Hoboken isn't totally clear, likely that #PTC could have stopped accident if caused by speed or human error.
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) September 29, 2016Train which crashed into station in #Hoboken didn't have Positive Train Control. #PTC could have saved lives.
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) September 29, 2016I have been fighting in Congress to require #PTC implementation, secure funding to keep commuters safe. Can't afford to shortchange safety.
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) September 29, 2016Positive train control hasn't been installed on any New Jersey Transit trains as of the latest New Jersey Transit report on the technology, which was released on Sept. 13.
New Jersey Transit PTC Report
The technology hasn't been installed on any New Jersey Transit tracks, either, and no New Jersey Transit employees have been trained in how to operate the system.
Mashable Top StoriesStay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news.Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletterBy signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Thanks for signing up! A National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson told Mashablethat the organization is still in the early stages of its investigation and is not yet commenting on the derailment or whether positive train control may have prevented it.
The National Transportation Safety Board has advocated for positive train control as early as 1990.
The Rail Safety Improvement Act, passed by Congress in 2008, mandated positive train control installment across the nation by the end of 2015, but that has since rolled back to 2018 after train operators said they didn't have the funding to get the job done.
That deadline may still be pushed to 2020. New Jersey Transit officials said in 2015 they planned to install positive train control on New Jersey Transit trains and tracks by the end of 2018.
Damage is seen on a section of the roof of the Hoboken station as seen from Jersey City, New Jersey, on Sept. 29.Credit: AP Photo/Seth WenigThe lack of positive train control on American railroads often becomes a topic of conversation after train accidents make national news.
The National Transportation Safety Board told Mashablein 2013 that the technology would have stopped a deadly Metro-North train crash. The train derailed after it flew around a curve at more than twice the speed limit.
Positive train control may have also prevented a similar deadly Amtrak derailment in May 2015, when a train derailed at more than twice the speed limit going around a curve in Philadelphia.
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