Permanent repairs to damage caused in the Hoboken Terminal by a Sept. 29 commuter train crash that killed a woman in the station and injured more than 100 people will not be completed for another two years, according to N.J. Transit documents.
N.J. Transit's board of directors is scheduled to vote Tuesday to amend a contract to design permanent repairs. However, those repairs will not be completed until close to the third anniversary of the crash in 2019.
The crash occurred when Pascack Valley Line train 1614 failed to stop and ran through a bumper at the end of track 5 and into the station concourse. The cause of the crash is still under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. A preliminary investigation determined the train was going twice the posted 10 mph speed limit.
The crash “severely damaged” structural concourse components that support the train shed, passenger concourse roof, attached ticketing office, and other electrical, mechanical and communication infrastructure, according to NJ Transit documents.
NJ Transit is currently making interim repairs. Now, the concourse is closed at track 5 and passengers have to walk through the waiting room around the outside of the station to reach buses and PATH trains.
Design work is scheduled to start later this spring and be completed in March 2018. Construction could start in late 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of 2019.
