DHS, DOT need better coordination of rail security measures

DHS, DOT need better coordination of rail security measures    In the aftermath of the recent terrorist attacks on the Spanish railroad, U.S. lawmakers want the Homeland Security and Transportation departments to clarify their roles and responsibilities in regards to rail security.
   “We are fortunate that we are not in the position today of having to make decisions about rail security in the wake of a terrorist attack here at home,” said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, during a March 23 hearing.
   McCain pointed out that the two departments have yet to sign memorandum of agreements clearly establishing their respective security roles with the railroads. Furthermore, he said, the Homeland Security Department’s Transportation Security Administration has not finished a threat and vulnerability assessment for the rail system. “The (TSA) Maritime and Land Division is pursuing a number of individual projects, but does not appear to have an overall strategy for improving rail security,” McCain said.
   A General Accounting Office report, cited during the hearing, warned that terrorist attacks on freight rail services, especially those carrying large volumes of hazardous materials, could result in “widespread injury, loss of life, and economic disruption.”
   In response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, the nation’s railroads tightened security and implemented more than 50 security countermeasures.
   The industry also set up a security task force led by members of the Association of American Railroads, American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, and executives from Canadian and Mexican railroads to study and implement additional security measures.
   Edward R. Hamberger, AAR president and chief executive officer, told members of the Senate Commerce Committee that the task force developed “a comprehensive, 24/7 blueprint of actions designed to enhance security of the nation’s freight rail network and its ability to support our economy, national defense, and public health.”
   Hamberger said the railroads are prepared to respond to terrorist attacks. “The programs and procedures include the establishment of emergency response plans for hazardous materials incidents, operational administration redundancy, and the training of rail employees and public emergency response personnel,” he testified.
   The AAR chief wants to avoid wholesale reroutings of hazardous cargoes through cities, which the Washington, D.C. City Council recently proposed.
   “The rail industry agrees that vigilance in the transportation of hazardous materials must be maintained, and efforts must be made to increase hazmat safety where possible and practical,” Hamberger said. “But decisions to reroute potentially hazardous products must be based upon sound analysis of the consequences.”
   The U.S. rail industry expressed concerns about meeting the costs of future security measures.
   “Railroads have been underwriting the cost of security measures for the benefit of the general public and for national defense, in addition to normal expenditures made to ensure the safety of rail operations,” Hamberger said. “Additional protective measures required at the highest alert levels cannot be sustained by the industry alone.”
   McCain said he’s aware of the freight railroads’ concerns and that his committee would work hard toward securing some rail security funding. “With our nation facing a half-trillion-dollar deficit, we must use the taxpayers’ money wisely,” McCain said.