Since 2010, New Jersey Transit paid about $465,000 to settle 76 safety violations identified by the Federal Railroad Administration. During the same period, the Long Island Rail Road paid $77,000 to settle 18 safety violations, and the Metro-North Railroad paid about $346,000 to settle 71.

Train accidents were twice as common for New Jersey Transit during those years as they were for the region’s other commuter railroads. New Jersey Transit had 200 train accidents since 2010, though most were minor episodes. Metro-North had 100 accidents during the same period; the Long Island Rail Road had 58.

Days after the Hoboken crash, State Assemblyman John F. McKeon called for the railroad’s administration to release its findings and let commuters know whether the problems had been fixed.

“If trains are going to be delayed now and then, that’s one thing,” Mr. McKeon, a Democrat who represents northern New Jersey, said in an interview. “But safety’s nonnegotiable.”

The crash also revived calls for the addition of technology that can automatically stop a train headed for trouble. American passenger railroads are required to install such technology, known as positive train control, by the end of 2018. But New Jersey Transit has made virtually no progress toward that goal.

It was only after the crash that Mr. Christie reached a deal with Democratic lawmakers to raise New Jersey’s historically low gas tax by 23 cents a gallon to replenish a fund that pays for much of the state’s transportation work. When negotiations over the fund stalled this summer, Mr. Christie declared a state of emergency, halting work on $2.7 billion in New Jersey Transit projects. While the gas tax increase will finance billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, it will not solve the annual battle over financing the railroad’s operating budget.

Karl Ward, who was seriously injured while riding in the lead car of the train that crashed in Hoboken, said he was angry that New Jersey Transit had not installed an automatic braking system. Mr. Ward, a site-reliability engineer recovering from surgery on a knee hurt in the crash, said the brakes and the broader reliability problems must be fixed.

“I want to know that there’s a plan in place to solve the systemic problems,” he said. “The State of New Jersey has dragged its feet. It’s very disheartening.”