GoKawiilNTSB Links 2016 NJ Transit and LIRR Terminal Crashes to Engineer Sleep Apnea, Weak Safeguards
On September 29, 2016, a New Jersey Transit train failed to stop and crashed into Hoboken Terminal at about 21 mph, killing one person and injuring 110. Three months later, a Long Island Railroad train had a nearly identical failure at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn, injuring 108 with no deaths. NTSB investigators found both engineers had undiagnosed sleep apnea and that neither train had systems capable of intervening before the crash.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
These crashes exposed how commuter rail safety still depended heavily on human alertness, with bumping posts serving only as last-resort, low-speed backstops rather than true failsafes. The investigations pushed for automated braking and end-of-track protection systems that don't rely solely on an engineer's condition, highlighting a gap engineers had to close through technology rather than trust in human performance.
- Both 2016 crashes were caused by engineers with undiagnosed sleep apnea, not mechanical brake failure.
- Bumping posts at terminal ends are designed for low-speed stops, not full-speed impacts.
- The NTSB pushed for automated safety systems since human alertness alone can't be guaranteed.
Engineering in Plain Sight by Grady Hillhouse — If this deep dive into bumping posts, dashpot snubbers and rail safety hooked you, this illustrated field guide to infrastructure is the natural next step. It decodes the everyday hardware along tracks, roads and power lines that most people walk past without a second glance.
See Engineering in Plain Sight by Grady Hillhouse on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: practical.engineering — Wesley Crump, 2026-09-01
Published there as: “Stopping the Unstoppable: When an unstoppable force meets a dashpot snubber”
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