Fourteen stations along NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast Line have been targeted for safety improvements to pedestrian track crossings following an accident in Belmar earlier this month, according to the Asbury Park Press.
The initial report by the Press did not identify the 14 stations, which are among 33 NJ Transit stations statewide slated for the improvements. But an earlier report said transit officials were focusing on stations with raised platforms and street-level foot crossings over tracks.
According to the report,
The other 40 stations [of NJ Transit’s total 73 stations] that will not get the upgrades are on single track lines where there is no risk of passengers getting off one train being hit by another train coming in the opposite direction.
The Red Bank station has both a raised platform and grade crossing. Little Silver’s station has a low platform, but like Red Bank, it does have north- and southbound tracks and pedestrian grade crossings.
At the Belmar station, the safety improvements were said to involve fencing, signage and onboard announcements.
On July 14, a 16-year-old girl leaving a southbound train in Belmar was struck by a northbound train, resulting in the loss of several fingers and other injuries. Two other girls were believed to have been brushed by the same train but were not seriously injured.
