Dozens of NJ Transit engineers diagnosed with sleep apnea
More than one in 10 New Jersey Transit train engineers who were screened for sleep apnea tested positive for the condition, which can make them spontaneously fall asleep while on the job, according to agency officials.
Out of the 373 train engineers tested, 57 were taken off duty because an initial screening showed that they had symptoms of sleep apnea, NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said Wednesday.
Of those, 44 tested positive for the disorder and were kept off trains until they started treatment. A pair of engineers are still not back on the job, said Snyder.
NJ Transit started testing its train operators late last year after they learned that the engineer who was operating the train that crashed at the Hoboken Terminal in September 2016 suffered from the deadly condition.
The train, which was supposed to be traveling at 10 mph into the station, accelerated to more than twice the limit before slamming into a barrier. The crash injured several and killed a woman waiting on the platform.
The MTA also instituted rules this year that require all train and bus operators to be tested for the condition. The agency admitted last month that it has so far only tested about half of the 20,000 who fall under the mandate.