But according to Fox, Pelosi voted for the extension for the installation until 2018 and since we don’t know the causes yet behind this, there is no way of knowing whether PTC would have made any difference.
Via Fox Business:
As National Transportation Safety Board officials probe what caused a deadly train accident in Hoboken, New Jersey on Thursday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) criticized Congress for its decision to delay a key deadline for the installation of “Positive Train Control” technology designed to prevent crashes.
Investigators have yet to determine what caused a New Jersey Transit commuter train to crash into the platform at Hoboken Train Station, resulting in at least one death and more than 100 injuries. It’s unclear if Positive Train Control, which automatically slows trains traveling at excessive rates of speed, could have prevented the accident.
“I don’t think we should have extended the deadline. If you extend the deadline, stop the trains,” Pelosi said in response to the Hoboken incident, according to Fox News.
Congressional leaders initially mandated that rail operators install Positive Train Control technology on all of their lines by the end of 2015. However, Congress voted last October to extend the installation deadline to 2018 after several major railroads threatened a shutdown, arguing that the initial timeline was unrealistic.