The security of rail transportation in the United States Rail Security falls into two categories, namely, passenger rail and freight rail. Passenger rail together with the mass transit is among the transportation subsector networks that provide numerous means of transportation from access points to end destinations connecting to other modes of transportation (Department of Homeland Security, 2007). While Freight railroads are key element of the nation’s transportation system that comprises of over 140,000 miles of track, which passes through thousands of bridges and tunnels, and carries millions of tons of freight yearly (United States Government Accountability Office, 2009). Freight and passenger rail infrastructure intertwine and …show more content…
However, DOT still retains the “regulatory role with respect to the transportation of hazardous materials via rail” (United States Government Accountability Office, 2009). Moreover, “The Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency share responsibilities, programs, and resource investments to mass transit and passenger rail emergencies” (Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General, 2010). However, the rail transportation subsector is susceptible to lots of hazards such as terrorist attacks, natural deserters, accidents, sabotage, cyber-attacks, etc. Some of these will lead to destruction of trains and/or railways themselves, hi-jacking of trains, breaching railway databases (Major Vulnerabilities to Railway Security, n. d). Passenger travel and security measures Many people across the United States depend on safe and secure rail systems to travel from one point to the other, as such security of those travelers must be of utmost priority to governments at all levels, as well as stakeholders in the rail industry. There are various laws in the United
(a) Why did CSX make a two-tiered offer? What effect does this structure have on the transaction?
With the construction and use of railroads, the main question that had to be answered was who would control the railroad services and monitor rail ways. Since there were no laws within the railroad services, many states established and controlled their own regulatory board. Many rail companies operated between states so enforcing rules was seen as impractical and useless. Meanwhile the railroad companies were abusing their powers by setting their own standards and practices.
railroad has allowed the rail industry to provide a more tailored service to its customers. It has also
Not only are exports happening, but imports as well; 171 million tons of chemicals, intermodal, farm/food, forest products, metal, vehicles, et cetera (Document F). The railroad industry also accounts for 40% of the USA’s total freight network, providing 221,000 jobs (Federal Railroad Administration). Many creations become outdated after only a few years, but the Transcontinental Railroad still influences global economy today. Carrying millions of tons of goods, railroads are vital to the US
Railroad Terminals. With a railway station within walking distance to McBride Financial Services, precautions must be made to mitigate derailing of train cars. Railway cars contain a great deal of mass. When you combine that with velocity, you obtain force. A runaway rail car could obtain enough force to destroy sections of McBride Financial Services. With that in mind, it is essential that McBride invest in precautionary measures. This could include crafting railway dunes to prevent railway cars from colliding with McBride’s structures.
The business is currently opposing, diluting and campaigning against actualizing positive train control innovation that could alarm the specialist prior to make a move or convey a train to a stop before passing a red flag or surpassing his power, and in particular, before an impact (Olszowka 2014). Dismissing positive train control would close our eyes. In March of this current year, the Senate panel that administers rail issues affirmed a bipartisan bill to defer by an extra five years the prerequisite for the new positive train control innovation. Among the areas of the framework that were then still without the wellbeing apparatus: the tracks extending between New York City and Washington. The bill to postpone the positive train control was supported by Senators (Briffault 2014). This has turned into an exceptionally entangled issue and is not independently campaigning against the positive train control command. Gotten some information about the American Association of Railroads, the campaigning gathering restricted to the POSITIVE TRAIN CONTROL due date which considers Amtrak a part. AAR can identify with their
There's a difference between actual trains and UTA trax trains. Regular trains run on an engine, while UTA runs on an electric source: power lines like on telephone poles. All though these different trains have different qualities, they also have a lot in common. For example, they have a hard time stopping and you will be severely injured or even killed if you get hit by one. Also, tampering with a train in any way can be dangerous to anyone.
Today I look back at my home. Or to put it correctly, what used to be my home. The Americans and their hired Chinese and Irish men are, as we speak, running the tracks down that divide our land. Not theirs, but our land. These people are laying down tracks separating our lives as we speak. Our entire way of operating will be destroyed. And it doesn’t seem like it only affected their side, but our American side as well. They can now possibly be viewed as a greedy nation for the ill-treatment of all those immigrants. It seems the idea of The Transcontinental Railroad has more downs that ups; injuring it workers, taking down Native American Homes, and showing how
It takes about a mile on average to stop a train. Now that this information has been said, I don’t know why people wouldn’t be safe around these
The attack of 9/11/2001 shocked the entire United States. The government, President, and every civilian felt the fear from this day, and the vulnerability of this country came quickly and surprisingly evident. With such a disaster occurring in New York City, one of the largest cities in the United States, killing thousands and injuring many more, the United States was under an awakening of an unfortunate and obvious need for increased security in various aspects, specifically the industry of transit.
Often, when people think of the functions of trains, they simply view them as modes of transportation. In
United States’ national infrastructure are resources that are vital to keep commerce operating. Technology have allowed the governments and the private sector to share vital information with them. The nation well-being depend on each of the critical infrastructures, the big question is on how to maintain all of our infrastructure sectors operative without any problem. There a big wave of threats to our nation and if one of this threads go through, it can created a multidimensional problem to the infrastructure system of the country. The main concerns that exist in protecting the U.S. against any attacks to any U.S. infrastructure and in the same time on how to have a system that work well with other agencies. For example; is important to
Being short of money year after year has consequences. On average, there are about 31 Amtrak derailments each year.[5] The most well-known derailment occurred last May. An Amtrak Northeast Regional train derailed on the Northeast Corridor. The derailment left 200 injured, 11 in critical condition, and 8 dead. The train was operating at 102 mph when approaching a 50 mph curve. According to the NTSB, the cause of the derailment is still unclear, but speed was a factor. The rails can’t handle trains moving at high speeds, especially on a bend. According to the reports and interviews, a speed limit sign was not present for the engineer to know what speed he should have been at and a speed regulator was not in place to assist.[6] These both have
In an industry beset by limited options to consolidate domestic rail traffic, CSX looked at Conrail as an avenue to increase market share and gain access to the North East rail network. With air travel, road travel and trucking taking an increasing share, significant revenue growth became difficult. As Conrail became profitable, Congress explored ways of privatizing it, giving CSX an opportunity to acquire Conrail. Though Conrail suffered from performance inefficiencies it had certain strengths relative to CSX and Norfolk with respect to highest revenue per mile of track operated, per carload originated etc. Conrail with operating revenue of $3,686
The path forward to secure transportation systems from cyber attacks will require broad-based commitments to improve cybersecurity awareness and the use of best security practices by individuals, industries and government agencies. Sector partners should work together to refine assessments of the cyber threats and vulnerabilities, and to assure timely sharing of cyber-threat information with owners and operators. The partners should continue to implement the Transportation Systems Sector’s Cybersecurity Strategy and support initiatives based on implementation of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.