http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/30/opinion/why-new-jerseys-trains-arent-safer.html 2016-09-30 02:41:37 Why New Jersey’s Trains Aren’t Safer Gov. Chris Christie and other state leaders have neglected and mismanaged the mass transit system. === Why did a The engineer, who was injured, might have failed to hit the brakes in time. Or the brakes could have failed. What we do know — have known, in fact, for years — is that there are technologies to make trains safer that New Jersey Transit and many other commuter systems have been slow to install. The most promising of these can slow or stop trains automatically. Congress in 2008 Yet, most railroads, including New Jersey Transit, failed to meet the 2015 deadline, and Congress last year gave them three more years to finish the job. Commuter-train systems like New Jersey’s have struggled in large part because federal and state governments have not provided enough money to help them buy the necessary equipment and software. New Jersey Transit says it will cost The Legislature wants to replenish a depleted transportation fund by raising the state gasoline tax to 37.5 cents per gallon from 14.5 cents. The current rate is one of the lowest in the country, and it has not been increased in more than 25 years. Gov. The neglect and mismanagement of the mass transit system by Mr. Christie and other state leaders began long before the gas-tax standoff. Capital investment in the system fell 19 percent from 2002 to 2016 after adjusting for inflation, according to a Of course, train travel is incredibly safe — a