Passenger Rail Security: Enhanced Federal Leadership Needed to
Prioritize and Guide Security Efforts (20-OCT-05, GAO-06-181T).
The July 2005 bombing attacks on London's subway system
dramatically highlighted the vulnerability of passenger rail
systems worldwide to terrorist attacks, and the need for an
increased focus on security for these systems. This testimony
provides information on how the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS), including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)
and the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP), have assessed
risks posed by terrorism to the U.S. passenger rail system using
risk management principles; actions federal agencies have taken
to enhance the security of U.S. rail systems; and rail security
practices implemented by domestic and selected foreign passenger
rail operators and differences among these practices.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-06-181T
ACCNO: A39997
TITLE: Passenger Rail Security: Enhanced Federal Leadership
Needed to Prioritize and Guide Security Efforts
DATE: 10/20/2005
SUBJECT: Counterterrorism
Emergency preparedness
Homeland security
Interagency relations
Rail security
Railroad safety
Risk management
Strategic planning
Terrorism
Transportation security
London rail bombings
******************************************************************
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GAO-06-181T
United States Government Accountability Office
GAO Testimony before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, U.S. Senate
For Release on Delivery Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT Thursday, October 20,
2005
PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY
Enhanced Federal Leadership Needed to Prioritize and Guide Security Efforts
Statement of Cathleen A. Berrick, Director Homeland Security and Justice Issues
GAO-06-181T
[IMG]
October 2005
PASSENGER RAIL SECURITY
Enhanced Federal Leadership Needed to Prioritize and Guide Security Efforts
What GAO Found
Within DHS, ODP has completed numerous risk assessments of passenger rail
systems around the country, and TSA has begun to conduct risk assessments
as well as establish a methodology for determining how to analyze and
characterize risks that have been identified. Until TSA completes these
efforts, however, the agency will not be able to prioritize passenger rail
assets and help guide security investment decisions. At the department
level, DHS has begun developing, but has not yet completed, a framework to
help agencies and the private sector develop a consistent approach for
analyzing and comparing risks to transportation and other sectors. Until
this framework is finalized and shared with stakeholders, it may not be
possible to compare risks across different sectors, prioritize them, and
allocate resources accordingly.
In addition to the ongoing initiatives to enhance passenger rail security
conducted by the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Federal Transit
Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, such as providing
security training to passenger rail operators, TSA issued emergency
security directives in 2004 to domestic rail operators after terrorist
attacks on the rail system in Madrid and piloted a test of explosive
detection technology for use in passenger rail systems. However, federal
and rail industry officials raised questions about the feasibility of
implementing and complying with the security directives, citing limited
opportunities to collaborate with TSA to ensure that industry best
practices were incorporated.
Domestic and foreign passenger rail operators we contacted have taken a
range of actions to help secure their systems. Most, for example, had
implemented customer awareness programs to encourage passengers to report
suspicious activities, increased the number and visibility of their
security personnel, upgraded security technology, and improved rail system
design to enhance security. We also observed security practices among
certain foreign passenger rail systems or their governments not currently
used by the domestic rail operators we contacted, or by the U.S.
government, which could be considered for use in the United States. For
example, some foreign rail operators randomly screen passengers or utilize
covert testing to help keep employees alert to security threats, and some
foreign governments maintain centralized clearinghouses on rail security
technologies. While introducing any of these security practices into the
U.S. rail system may pose political, legal, fiscal, and cultural
challenges, they may nevertheless warrant further examination.
United States Government Accountability Office
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for inviting me to participate in today's hearing on passenger
and freight rail security. The London rail bombings that took place in
July-resulting in over 50 fatalities and more than 700 injuries-made clear
that even when a variety of security precautions are put in place,
passenger rail systems that move high volumes of passengers on a daily
basis remain vulnerable to terrorist attack. While securing the U.S.
passenger rail system is a daunting task-a shared responsibility requiring
coordinated action on the part of federal, state, and local governments
and the private sector-it is important nonetheless to take the necessary
steps to identify and mitigate risks to passenger rail systems.
As we have reported previously, the sheer number of stakeholders involved
in securing these systems can lead to communication challenges,
duplication of effort, and confusion about roles and responsibilities. Key
federal stakeholders with critical roles to play within the rail sector
include the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is
responsible for transportation security overall, and the Office for
Domestic Preparedness (ODP), which provides grant funds to rail operators
and conducts risk assessments for passenger rail agencies, both within the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and the Federal Transit
Administration (FTA) and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), both
within the Department of Transportation (DOT). One of the critical
challenges facing these federal agencies, and rail system operators they
oversee or support, is finding ways to protect rail systems from potential
terrorist attacks without compromising the accessibility and efficiency of
rail travel.
At the federal level, another significant challenge to securing rail
systems involves allocation of resources. The U.S. passenger rail systems
represent one of many modes of transportation-along with aviation,
maritime, and others-competing for limited federal security resources.
Within the passenger rail sector itself, there is competition for
resources, as federal, state, and local agencies and rail operators seek
to identify and invest in appropriate security measures to safeguard these
systems while also investing in other capital and operational
improvements. Moreover, given competing priorities and limited homeland
security resources, difficult policy decisions have to be made by Congress
and the executive branch to prioritize security efforts and direct
resources to areas of greatest risk within the passenger rail system,
among all transportation modes, and across other nationally critical
sectors.
In this regard, to help federal decision makers determine how to best
allocate limited resources, we have advocated, the National Commission on
Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission) has
recommended, and the subsequent Intelligence Reform and Terrorism
Prevention Act of 2004 requires, that a risk management approach be
employed to guide security decision making.1 A risk management approach
entails a continuous process of managing risks through a series of
actions, including setting strategic goals and objectives, assessing and
quantifying risks, evaluating alternative security measures, selecting
which measures to undertake, and implementing and monitoring those
measures. In July 2005, in announcing his proposal for the reorganization
of DHS, the Secretary of DHS declared that as a core principle of the
reorganization, the department must base its work on priorities driven by
risk.
My testimony today focuses on the progress federal agencies and domestic
passenger rail operators have made in setting and implementing security
priorities in the wake of September 11 and terrorist attacks on rail
systems, and the security practices implemented by foreign passenger rail
operators. In particular, my testimony highlights three key areas: (1) the
actions that DHS and its component agencies have taken to assess the risks
posed by terrorism to the U.S. passenger rail system in the context of
prevailing risk management principles; (2) the actions that federal
agencies have taken to enhance the security of the U.S. passenger rail
system; and (3) the security practices that domestic and selected foreign
passenger rail operators have implemented to mitigate risks and enhance
security, and any differences in these practices. My comments today are
based upon our recently issued report to Senators Snowe and Boxer of this
committee, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Railroads, and Representative Castle.2
In summary:
o Within DHS, ODP has completed numerous risk assessments of passenger
rail systems around the country, and TSA has begun to conduct risk
assessments as well as establish a methodology for determining how to
analyze and characterize risks that have been identified. Until TSA
completes these efforts, however, or sets
1Pub. L. No. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638.
2GAO, Passenger Rail Security: Enhanced Federal Leadership Needed to
Prioritize and Guide Security Efforts, GAO-05-851 (Washington, D.C.: Sept.
9, 2005).
timelines for doing so, the agency will not be able to prioritize
passenger rail assets and help guide security investment decisions. At the
department level, DHS has begun developing, but has not yet completed a
framework to help agencies and the private sector develop a consistent
approach for analyzing and comparing risks to transportation and other
sectors. Until this framework is finalized and shared with stakeholders,
it may not be possible to compare risks across different sectors,
prioritize them, and allocate resources accordingly.
o In addition to the ongoing initiatives to enhance passenger rail
conducted by the FTA and FRA, in 2004, TSA issued emergency security
directives to domestic rail operators after terrorist attacks on the rail
system in Madrid and piloted a test of explosive detection technology for
use in passenger rail systems. However, federal and rail industry
officials raised questions about the feasibility of implementing and
complying with these directives, citing limited opportunities to
collaborate with TSA to ensure that industry best practices were
incorporated. In September 2004, DHS and DOT signed a memorandum of
understanding to improve coordination between the two agencies, and are
developing agreements to delineate specific security-related roles and
responsibilities, among other things, for the different modes. An
agreement for transit security was signed in September 2005.
o Domestic and foreign passenger rail operators we contacted have taken
a range of actions to help secure their systems. Most, for example, had
implemented customer awareness programs to encourage passengers to remain
vigilant and report suspicious activities, increased the number and
visibility of their security personnel, increased the use of canine teams
to detect explosives, enhanced employee training programs, upgraded
security technology, tightened access controls, and made rail system
design improvements to enhance security. We also observed security
practices among certain foreign passenger rail systems or their
governments that are not currently used by the domestic rail operators we
contacted, or by the U.S. government, which could be considered for use in
the United States. For example, some foreign rail operators randomly
screen passengers or utilize covert testing to help keep employees alert
to security threats, and some foreign governments maintain centralized
clearinghouses on rail security technologies and best practices. While
introducing any of these security practices into the U.S. rail system may
pose political, legal, fiscal, and cultural challenges, they may
nevertheless warrant further examination.
In our September 2005 report on passenger rail security, we recommended,
among other things, that to help ensure that the federal government has
the information it needs to prioritize passenger rail assets based on
risk, and in order to evaluate, select, and implement commensurate
measures to help the nation's passenger rail operators protect their
systems against acts of terrorism, TSA should establish a plan with
timelines for completing its methodology for conducting risk assessments
and develop security standards that reflect industry best practices and
can be measured and enforced, by using the federal rulemaking process. In
addition, we recommended that the Secretary of DHS, in collaboration with
DOT and the passenger rail industry, determine the feasibility, in a risk
management context, of implementing certain security practices used by
foreign rail operators. DHS, DOT, and Amtrak generally agreed with the
report's recommendations.
Background
Overview of the Passenger Rail System
Each weekday, 11.3 million passengers in 35 metropolitan areas and 22
states use some form of rail transit (commuter, heavy, or light rail).3
Commuter rail systems typically operate on railroad tracks and provide
regional service (e.g., between a central city and adjacent suburbs).
Commuter rail systems are traditionally associated with older industrial
cities, such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. Heavy rail
systems-subway systems like New York City's transit system and Washington,
D.C.'s Metro-typically operate on fixed rail lines within a metropolitan
area and have the capacity for a heavy volume of traffic. Amtrak operates
the nation's primary intercity passenger rail service over a 22,000-mile
network, primarily over leased freight railroad tracks.4 Amtrak serves
more than 500 stations (240 of which are staffed) in 46 states and the
District of Columbia, and it carried more than 25 million passengers in
2004. Figure 1 identifies the geographic location of rail transit systems
and Amtrak within the United States.
3The American Public Transportation Association compiled this fiscal year
2003 ridership data from FTA's National Transit Database. These are the
most current data available. Rail transit systems in the District of
Columbia and Puerto Rico are included in these statistics.
4The Alaska Railroad Corporation also operates intercity passenger rail
service.
Figure 1: Geographic Distribution of Amtrak and Rail Transit Systems
Number of Heavy rail systems in city Number of commuter rail systems in
city
Number of light rail systems in city Amtrak train stations
Amtrak rail network
Source: Amtrak and National Transit Database.
Passenger Rail Systems Are Inherently Vulnerable to Terrorist Attacks
According to passenger rail officials and passenger rail experts, certain
characteristics of domestic and foreign passenger rail systems make them
inherently vulnerable to terrorist attacks and therefore difficult to
secure. By design, passenger rail systems are open (i.e., have multiple
access points, hubs serving multiple carriers, and, in some cases, no
barriers) so that they can move large numbers of people quickly. In
contrast, the U.S. commercial aviation system is housed in closed and
controlled locations with few entry points. The openness of passenger rail
systems can leave them vulnerable because operator personnel cannot
completely monitor
or control who enters or leaves the systems. In addition, other
characteristics of some passenger rail systems-high ridership, expensive
infrastructure, economic importance, and location (e.g., large
metropolitan areas or tourist destinations)-also make them attractive
targets for terrorists because of the potential for mass casualties and
economic damage and disruption. Moreover, some of these same
characteristics make passenger rail systems difficult to secure. For
example, the numbers of riders that pass through a subway system-
especially during peak hours-may make the sustained use of some security
measures, such as metal detectors, difficult because they could result in
long lines that could disrupt scheduled service. In addition, multiple
access points along extended routes could make the cost of securing each
location prohibitive. Balancing the potential economic impacts of security
enhancements with the benefits of such measures is a difficult challenge.
Multiple Stakeholders Share Responsibility for Security Passenger Rail
Systems
Securing the nation's passenger rail systems is a shared responsibility
requiring coordinated action on the part of federal, state, and local
governments; the private sector; and rail passengers who ride these
systems. Since the September 11 attacks, the role of federal government
agencies in securing the nation's transportation systems, including
passenger rail, have continued to evolve. Prior to September 11, DOT-
namely FTA and FRA-was the primary federal entity involved in passenger
rail security matters. In response to the attacks of September 11,
Congress passed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), which
created TSA within DOT and defined its primary responsibility as ensuring
security in all modes of transportation.5 The act also gave TSA regulatory
authority for security over all transportation modes. ATSA does not
specify TSA's roles and responsibilities in securing the maritime and land
transportation modes at the level of detail it does for aviation security.
Instead, the act broadly identifies that TSA is responsible for ensuring
the security of all modes of transportation. With the passage of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, TSA was transferred, along with over 20
other agencies, to the Department of Homeland Security.6
With the creation of DHS in 2002, one of its components, ODP, became
primarily responsible for overseeing security funding for passenger rail
5Pub. L. No. 107-71, 115 Stat. 597 (2001). 6Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat.
2135 (2002).
systems.7 ODP is the principal component of DHS responsible for preparing
the United States for acts of terrorism and has primary responsibility
within the executive branch for assisting and supporting DHS, in
coordination with other directorates and entities outside of the
department, in conducting risk analysis and risk management activities of
state and local governments.8 In carrying out its mission, ODP provides
training, funds for the purchase of equipment, support for the planning
and execution of exercises, technical assistance, and other support to
assist states, local jurisdictions, and the private sector to prevent,
prepare for, and respond to acts of terrorism. Through the Urban Area
Security Initiative (UASI) grant program, ODP has provided grants to urban
areas to help enhance their overall security and preparedness level to
prevent, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism. The DHS
Appropriations Act of 2005 appropriated $150 million for rail transit,
intercity passenger rail, freight rail, and transit agency security
grants.9 With this funding, ODP created and is administering two grant
programs focused specifically on transportation security, the Transit
Security Grant Program and the Intercity Passenger Rail Security Grant
Program. These programs provide financial assistance to address security
preparedness and enhancements for transit (to include commuter, heavy, and
light rail systems; intracity bus; and ferry) and intercity rail systems.
While TSA is the lead federal agency for ensuring the security of all
transportation modes, FTA conducts nonregulatory safety and security
activities, including safety and security-related training, research,
technical assistance, and demonstration projects. In addition, FTA
promotes safety and security through its grant-making authority. FRA has
regulatory authority for rail safety over commuter rail operators and
Amtrak, and
7The Department of Justice established ODP in 1998 within the Office of
Justice Programs. ODP was subsequently transferred to DHS's Directorate of
Border and Transportation Security upon DHS's creation in March 2003
(Homeland Security Act of 2002, section 403(5), 6 U.S.C. 203(5)). In March
2004, the Secretary of Homeland Security consolidated ODP with the Office
of State and Local Government Coordination to form the Office of State and
Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP). SLGCP, which
reports directly to the DHS Secretary, was created to provide a "one-stop
shop" for the numerous federal preparedness initiatives applicable to
state and local governments.
8At the time of our review, DHS was undertaking a departmentwide
reorganization that will affect both the structure and the functions of
DHS directorates and component agencies.
9Pub. L. No. 108-334, 118 Stat. 1298 (2004).
employs over 400 rail inspectors that periodically monitor the
implementation of safety and security plans at these systems.10
State and local governments, passenger rail operators, and private
industry are also important stakeholders in the nation's rail security
efforts. State and local governments may own or operate a significant
portion of the passenger rail system. Even when state and local
governments are not owners and operators, they are directly affected by
passenger rail systems that run within and through their jurisdictions.
Consequently, the responsibility for responding to emergencies involving
the passenger rail infrastructure often falls to state and local
governments. Passenger rail operators, which can be public or private
entities, are responsible for administering and managing passenger rail
activities and services. Passenger rail operators can directly operate the
service provided or contract for all or part of the total service.
Although all levels of government are involved in passenger rail security,
the primary responsibility for securing passenger rail systems rests with
the passenger rail operators.
Assessing and Managing Risks to Rail Infrastructure Using a Risk
Management Approach
In recent years, we, along with Congress (most recently through the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004),11 the executive
branch (e.g., in presidential directives), and the 9/11 Commission have
required or advocated that federal agencies with homeland security
responsibilities utilize a risk management approach to help ensure that
finite national resources are dedicated to assets or activities considered
to have the highest security priority. We have concluded that without a
risk management approach, there is limited assurance that programs
designed to combat terrorism are properly prioritized and focused. Thus,
risk management, as applied in the homeland security context, can help to
more effectively and efficiently prepare defenses against acts of
terrorism and other threats.
A risk management approach entails a continuous process of managing risk
through a series of actions, including setting strategic goals and
10FRA administers and enforces the federal laws and related regulations
that are designed to promote safety on railroads, such as track
maintenance, inspection standards, equipment standards, and operating
practices. FRA exercises jurisdiction over all areas of railroad safety
under 49 U.S.C. 20103.
11Pub. L. No. 108-458, 118 Stat. 3638.
objectives, performing risk assessments, evaluating alternative actions to
reduce identified risks by preventing or mitigating their impact,
management selecting actions to undertake, and implementing and monitoring
those actions. Figure 2 depicts a risk management cycle that is our
synthesis of government requirements and prevailing best practices
previously reported.
Figure 2: Risk Management Cycle
Source: GAO.
Setting strategic goals, objectives, and constraints is a key first step
in implementing a risk management approach and helps to ensure that
management decisions are focused on achieving a strategic purpose. These
decisions should take place in the context of an agency's strategic plan
that includes goals and objectives that are clear, concise, and
measurable.
Risk assessment, a critical element of a risk management approach, helps
decision makers identify and evaluate potential risks so that
countermeasures can be designed and implemented to prevent or mitigate the
effects of the risks. Risk assessment is a qualitative and/or quantitative
determination of the likelihood of an adverse event occurring and the
severity, or impact, of its consequences. Risk assessment in a homeland
security application often involves assessing three key elements-threat,
criticality, and vulnerability:
o A threat assessment identifies and evaluates potential threats on the
basis of factors such as capabilities, intentions, and past activities.
o A criticality or consequence assessment evaluates and prioritizes
assets and functions in terms of specific criteria, such as their
importance to public safety and the economy, as a basis for identifying
which structures or processes are relatively more important to protect
from attack.
o A vulnerability assessment identifies weaknesses that may be exploited
by identified threats and suggests options to address those weaknesses.
Information from these three assessments contributes to an overall risk
assessment that characterizes risks on a scale such as high, medium, or
low and provides input for evaluating alternatives and management
prioritization of security initiatives.12 The risk assessment element in
the overall risk management cycle may be the largest change from standard
management steps and is central to informing the remaining steps of the
cycle.
The next step in a risk management approach-alternatives evaluation-
considers what actions may be needed to address identified risks, the
associated costs of taking these actions, and any resulting benefits. This
information is then to be provided to agency management to assist in the
selection of alternative actions best suited to the unique needs of the
organization. An additional step in the risk management approach is the
implementation and monitoring of actions taken to address the risks,
including evaluating the extent to which risk was mitigated by these
actions. Once the agency has implemented the actions to address risks, it
should develop criteria for and continually monitor the performance of
these actions to ensure that they are effective and also reflect evolving
risk.
Federal Agencies with Risk Management Responsibilities
A number of federal departments and agencies have risk management and
critical infrastructure protection responsibilities stemming from various
requirements. The Homeland Security Act of 2002, which created DHS,
directed the department's Information Analysis and Infrastructure
Protection (IAIP) Directorate to utilize a risk management approach in
12GAO, Transportation Security: Systematic Planning Needed to Optimize
Resources, GAO-05-357T (Washington, D.C.: Feb. 15, 2005); Homeland
Security: A Risk Management Approach Can Guide Preparedness Efforts,
GAO-02-208T (Washington, D.C.: Oct. 31, 2001); and Combating Terrorism:
Threat and Risk Assessments Can Help Prioritize and Target Program
Investments, GAO/NSIAD-98-74 (Washington, D.C.: April 9, 1998).
coordinating the nation's critical infrastructure protection efforts. This
includes using risk assessments to set priorities for protective and
support measures by the department, other federal agencies, state and
local government agencies and authorities, the private sector, and other
entities. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 (HSPD-7) defines
critical infrastructure protection responsibilities for DHS,
sector-specific agencies (those federal agencies given responsibility for
transportation, energy, telecommunications, and so forth), and other
departments and agencies. The President instructs federal departments and
agencies to identify, prioritize, and coordinate the protection of
critical infrastructure to prevent, deter, and mitigate the effects of
terrorist attacks. The Secretary of DHS is assigned several
responsibilities by HSPD-7, including establishing uniform policies,
approaches, guidelines, and methodologies for integrating federal
infrastructure protection and risk management activities within and across
sectors. To ensure the coverage of critical sectors, HSPD-7 designated
sector-specific agencies for 17 critical infrastructure sectors.13 These
agencies are responsible for infrastructure protection activities in their
assigned sectors, including coordinating and collaborating with relevant
federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector to
carry out their responsibilities and facilitating the sharing of
information about vulnerabilities, incidents, potential protective
measures, and best practices.
Pursuant to HSPD-7 and the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP),
DHS was designated as the sector-specific agency for the transportation
sector, a responsibility the department has delegated to TSA.14 As the
sector-specific agency for transportation, TSA is required to develop a
transportation sector-specific plan (TSSP) for identifying, prioritizing,
and protecting critical transportation infrastructure and key resources
that will provide key input to the broader National Infrastructure
Protection Plan to be prepared by IAIP. DHS issued an interim NIPP in
February 2005 that was intended to serve as a road map for how DHS and
stakeholders-including other federal agencies, the
13Sector-specific agencies have been designated for the following sectors:
transportation; agriculture and food; public health and health care;
drinking water and wastewater treatment; energy; banking and finance;
national monuments and icons; defense industrial base; information
technology; telecommunications; chemical; emergency services; postal and
package shipping; dams; government facilities; commercial facilities; and
nuclear reactors, materials, and waste.
14The transportation sector includes mass transit; aviation; maritime;
ground/surface; and rail and pipeline systems.
DHS Has Taken Steps to Assess Risk to Passenger Rail Systems, but Additional
Work Is Needed to Guide Security Investments
private sector, and state and local governments-should use risk management
principles for determining how to prioritize activities related to
protecting critical infrastructure and key resources within and among each
of the 17 sectors in an integrated, coordinated fashion. DHS expects the
next iteration of the NIPP to be issued in November 2005, with the
sector-specific plans, including the TSSP, being incorporated into this
plan in February 2006. HSPD-7 also requires DHS to coordinate with DOT on
all transportation security matters.
DHS component agencies have taken various steps to assess the risk posed
by terrorism to U.S. passenger rail systems. ODP has developed and
implemented a risk assessment methodology intended to help passenger rail
operators and others enhance their capacity to respond to terrorist
incidents and identify and prioritize security countermeasures. As of July
2005, ODP had completed 7 risk assessments with rail operators and 12
others were under way. Further, TSA completed a threat assessment for mass
transit and rail and has begun to identify critical rail assets, but it
has not yet completed an overall risk assessment for the passenger rail
industry. DHS is developing guidance to help these and other
sectorspecific agencies work with stakeholders to identify and analyze
risk.
ODP Has Worked with Passenger Rail Operators to Develop Risk Assessments
to Help Prioritize Rail Security Needs and Investments
In 2002, ODP began conducting risk assessments of passenger rail operators
through its Mass Transit Technical Assistance program. These assessments
are intended to help passenger rail operators and port authorities enhance
their capacity and preparedness to respond to terrorist incidents
involving weapons of mass destruction, and identify and prioritize
security countermeasures and emergency response capabilities. ODP's
approach to risk assessment is generally consistent with the risk
assessment component of our risk management approach. The agency has
worked with passenger rail operators and others to complete several risk
assessments. As of July 2005, ODP had completed 7 risk assessments in
collaboration with passenger rail operators.15 Twelve additional risk
assessments are under way, and an additional 11 passenger rail operators
have requested assistance through this program. The results developed in
15ODP has completed risk assessments with the Port Authority of New York
and New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, Tri-County Metropolitan
Transportation District of Oregon, and the Delaware River Port Authority.
the threat, criticality, vulnerability, and impact assessments are then
used to develop an overall risk assessment in order to evaluate the
relative risk among various assets, weapons, and modes of attack. This is
intended to give operators an indication of which asset types and threat
scenarios carry the highest risk that, accordingly, are likely candidates
for early risk mitigation action.
According to rail operators who have used ODP's risk assessment
methodology and commented about it to DHS or us, the method has been
successful in helping to devise risk reduction strategies to guide
securityrelated investments. For example, between September 2002 and March
2003, ODP's technical assistance team worked with the Port Authority of
New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) to conduct a risk assessment of all of
its assets-its Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) passenger rail system,
as well as airports, ports, interstate highway crossings, and commercial
properties.16 According to PANYNJ officials, the authority was able to
develop and implement a risk reduction strategy that enabled it to
identify and set priorities for improvements in security and emergency
response capability that are being used to guide security investments.
According to authority officials, the risk assessment that was conducted
was instrumental in obtaining management approval for a 5-year, $500
million security capital investment program, as it provided a risk-based
justification for these investments.
The six other passenger rail operators that have completed ODP's risk
assessment process also stated that they valued the process. Specifically,
operators said that the assessments enabled them to prioritize investments
based on risk and are already allowing or are expected to allow them to
effectively target and allocate resources toward security measures that
will have the greatest impact on reducing risk across their system.
16PANYNJ is a bistate public agency that manages and maintains bridges,
tunnels, bus terminals, airports, the PATH passenger rail system, and
seaports in the greater New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. PANYNJ was
also the property owner and operator of the World Trade Center site and
the PATH passenger rail station underneath the site that was destroyed by
the September 11 terrorist attacks. At the request of PANYNJ, ODP's
technical assistance team worked with authority personnel to conduct the
first risk assessment using ODP's model. This collaborative effort
provided the means for ODP to test and refine its methodology and develop
the tool kit now in use.
ODP Has Sought to Promote Risk-Based Decision Making among Federal
Agencies and Rail Operators
On the basis of its own experience with conducting risk assessments in the
field, and in keeping with its mission to develop and implement a national
program to enhance the capacity of state and local agencies to respond to
incidents of terrorism, ODP has offered to help other DHS components and
federal agencies to develop risk assessment tools, according to ODP
officials. For example, ODP is partnering with FRA, TSA, the American
Association of Railroads (AAR), and others to develop a risk assessment
tool for freight rail corridors.17 In a separate federal outreach effort,
ODP worked with TSA to establish a Federal Risk Assessment Working Group
to promote interagency collaboration and information sharing. In addition,
in keeping with its mission to deliver technical assistance and training,
ODP has partnered with the American Public Transportation Association
(APTA) to inform passenger rail operators about its risk assessment
technical assistance program.18 Since June 2004, ODP has attended five
APTA conferences or workshops where it has set up information booths, made
the tool kit available, and conducted seminars to educate passenger rail
operators about the risk assessment process and its benefits.
ODP has leveraged its grant-making authority to promote risk-based funding
decisions for passenger rail. For example, passenger rail operators must
have completed a risk assessment to be eligible for financial assistance
through the fiscal year 2005 Transit Security Grant program administered
by ODP. To receive these funds, passenger rail operators are also required
to have a security and emergency preparedness plan that identifies how the
operator intends to respond to security gaps identified by risk
assessments. This plan, along with a regional transit security strategy
prepared by regional transit stakeholders, will serve as the basis for
determining how the grant funds are to be allocated.
Risk assessments are also a key driver of federal funds distributed
through ODP's fiscal year 2005 Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program.
This $7.1 million program provides financial assistance to Amtrak for the
protection
17The Association of American Railroads is an association representing the
interests of the rail industry, focused mostly at the federal level. Its
members are primarily freight rail operators in the United States, Canada,
and Mexico. However, it also represents some passenger rail interests,
including Amtrak.
18The American Public Transportation Association is a nonprofit trade
association representing over 1,500 public and private member
organizations, including transit systems and commuter rail operators;
planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service
providers; academic institutions; transit associations; and state
departments of transportation.
of critical infrastructure and emergency preparedness activities along
Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and its hub in Chicago. Amtrak is required to
conduct a risk assessment of these areas in collaboration with ODP, in
order to receive the grant funds.19 A recent review of Amtrak's security
posture and programs conducted by the RAND Corporation and funded by FRA
in 2004 found that no comprehensive terrorism risk assessment of Amtrak
has been conducted that would provide an empirical baseline for investment
prioritization and decision making for Amtrak's security policies and
investment plans. As another condition for receiving the grant funds,
Amtrak is required to develop a security and emergency preparedness plan
that, along with the risk assessment, is to serve as the basis for
proposed allocations of grant funding. According to an Amtrak security
official, it welcomes the risk assessment effort and plans to use the
results of the assessment to guide its security plans and investments.
According to ODP officials, as of July 2005, the Amtrak risk assessment
was nearly 50 percent complete.
TSA Has Begun to Assess Risks to Passenger Rail
In October 2004, TSA completed an overall threat assessment for both mass
transit and passenger and freight rail modes.20 TSA began conducting a
second risk assessment element-criticality assessments of passenger rail
stations-in the spring of 2004, but the effort had not been completed at
the time of our review. According to TSA, a criticality assessment tool
was developed that considers multiple factors, such as the potential for
loss of life or effects on public health; the economic impact of the loss
of function of the asset and the cost of reconstitution; and the local,
regional, or national symbolic importance of the asset. These factors were
to be used to arrive at a criticality score that, in turn, would enable
the agency to rank assets and facilities based on relative importance,
according to TSA officials.
19Up to 30 percent of the available funds will be available to assist
Amtrak in meeting its most pressing security needs in the Northeast
Corridor and Chicago (as identified through previously conducted
site-specific assessments) prior to completion of the risk assessment.
However, the remainder of the grant funds will not be released until
Amtrak has completed the risk assessment and also submitted a security and
emergency preparedness plan. Amtrak is also required to demonstrate that
its planning process and allocations of funds are fully coordinated with
regional planning efforts in the National Capitol Region, Philadelphia,
New York, Boston, and Chicago. Amtrak is using approximately $700,000 of
the grant funds for the ODP risk assessment.
20The results of TSA's passenger and freight rail threat assessments
contain information that is security sensitive or classified and therefore
cannot be disclosed in this testimony.
To date, TSA has assigned criticality scores to nearly 700 passenger rail
stations. In May 2005, TSA began conducting assessments for other
passenger rail assets such as bridges and tunnels. TSA officials told us
that as of July 2005, they had completed 73 criticality assessments for
bridge and tunnel assets and expect to conduct approximately 370
additional assessments in these categories. Once TSA has completed its
criticality assessment, a senior group of transportation security experts
will review these scores and subsequently rank and prioritize them. As of
July 2005, TSA had not established a time frame for completing criticality
assessments for passenger rail assets or for ranking assets, and had not
identified whether it planned to do so.
In 2003, TSA officials stated that they planned to work with
transportation stakeholders to rank assets and facilities in terms of
their criticality. HSPD-7 requires sector-specific agencies such as TSA to
collaborate with all relevant stakeholders, including federal departments
and agencies, state and local governments, and others. In addition, DHS's
interim NIPP states that sector-specific agencies, such as TSA, are
expected to work with stakeholders-such as rail operators-to determine the
most effective means of obtaining and analyzing information on assets.
While TSA's methodology for conducting criticality assessments calls for
"facilitated sessions" involving TSA modal specialists, DOT modal
specialists, and trade association representatives, these sessions with
stakeholders have not been held. According to TSA officials, their final
methodology for conducting criticality assessments did not include DOT
modal specialists and trade associations. With respect to rail operators,
TSA officials explained that their risk assessment process does not
require operators' involvement. TSA analysts said they have access to a
great deal of information (such as open source records, satellite imagery,
and insurance industry data) that can facilitate the assessment process.
However, when asked to comment on TSA's ability to identify critical
assets in passenger rail systems, APTA officials and 10 rail operators we
interviewed told us it would be difficult for TSA to complete this task
without their direct input and rail system expertise.
TSA plans to rely on asset criticality rankings to prioritize which assets
it will focus on in conducting vulnerability assessments. That is, once an
asset, such as a passenger rail station, is deemed to be most critical,
then TSA would focus on determining the station's vulnerability to
attacks. TSA plans to conduct on-site vulnerability assessments for those
assets deemed most critical. For assets that are deemed to be less
critical, TSA has developed a software tool that it has made available to
passenger rail and other transportation operators for them to use on a
voluntary basis to
assess the vulnerability of their assets. As of July 2005, the tool had
not yet been used. According to APTA officials, passenger rail operators
may be reluctant to provide vulnerability information to TSA without
knowing how the agency intends to use such information. According to TSA,
it is difficult, if not impossible, to project any timelines regarding
completion of vulnerability assessments in the transportation sector
because rail operators are not required to submit them. In this regard,
while the rail operators are not required to submit this information, as
the sectorspecific agency for transportation, TSA is required by HSPD-7 to
complete vulnerability assessments for the transportation sector. Figure 3
illustrates the overall progress TSA had made in conducting risk
assessments for passenger rail assets as of July 2005.
Figure 3: Status of TSA's Passenger Rail Risk Assessment Efforts, as of
July 2005
We recognize that TSA's risk assessment effort is still evolving and TSA
has had other pressing priorities, such as meeting the legislative
requirements related to aviation security. However, until all three
assessments of rail systems-threat, criticality, and vulnerability-have
been completed in sequence, and until TSA determines how to use the
results of these assessments to analyze and characterize risk (e.g.,
whether high, medium, or low), it may not be possible to prioritize
passenger rail assets and guide investment decisions about protecting
them.
Finalizing a methodology for assessing risk to passenger rail and other
transportation assets and conducting the assessments are key steps
needed to produce the plans required by HSPD-7 and the Intelligence Reform
and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. DHS and TSA have missed both
deadlines for producing these plans. Specifically, DHS and TSA have not
yet produced the TSSP required by HSPD-7 to be issued in December of 2004,
though a draft was prepared in November 2004. DHS and TSA also missed the
April 1, 2005, deadline for completing the national strategy for
transportation security required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism
Prevention Act of 2004. In an April 2005 letter to Congress addressing the
missed deadline, the DHS Deputy Secretary identified the need to more
aggressively coordinate the development of the strategy with other
relevant planning work such as the TSSP, to include further collaboration
with DOT modal administrations and DHS components. The Deputy Secretary
further stated that DHS expected to finish the strategy within 2 to 3
months. However, as of July 31, 2005, the strategy had not been completed.
In April 2005, senior DHS and TSA officials told us that in addition to
DOT, industry groups such as APTA and AAR would also be more involved in
developing the TSSP and other strategic plans. However, as of July 2005,
TSA had not yet engaged these stakeholders in the development of these
plans.
As TSA, other sector-specific agencies, and ODP move forward with risk
assessment activities, DHS is concurrently developing guidance intended to
help these agencies work with their stakeholders to assess risk. HSPD-7
requires DHS to establish uniform policies, approaches, guidelines, and
methodologies for integrating federal infrastructure protection and risk
management activities within and across sectors. To meet this requirement,
DHS has, among other things, been working for nearly 2 years on a risk
assessment framework through IAIP.21 This framework is intended to help
the private sector and state and local governments to develop a consistent
approach to analyzing risk and vulnerability across infrastructure types
and across entire economic sectors, develop consistent terminology, and
foster consistent results. The framework is also intended to enable a
federal-level assessment of risk in general, and comparisons among risks,
for purposes of resource allocation and response planning. DHS has
informed TSA that this framework will provide overarching guidance to
sector-specific agencies on how various risk assessment methodologies may
be used to analyze, normalize, and prioritize risk within and among
sectors. The interim NIPP states that the
21DHS refers to this framework as a Risk Analysis and Management for
Critical Asset Protection.
ability to rationalize, or normalize, results of different risk
assessments is an important goal for determining risk-related priorities
and guiding investments. One core element of the DHS framework-defining
concepts, terminology, and metrics for assessing risk-had not yet been
completed. The completion date for this element-initially due in September
2004- has been extended twice, with the latest due date in June 2005.
However, as of July 31, 2005, this element has not been completed.
Because neither this element nor the framework as a whole has been
finalized or provided to TSA or other sector-specific agencies, it is not
clear what impact, if any, DHS's framework may have on ongoing risk
assessments conducted by, and the methodologies used by, TSA, ODP, and
others, and whether or how DHS will be able to use these results to
compare risks and prioritize homeland security investments among sectors.
Until DHS finalizes this framework, and until TSA completes its risk
assessment methodology, it may not be possible to determine whether
different methodologies used by TSA and ODP for conducting threat,
criticality, and vulnerability assessments generate disparate qualitative
and quantitative results or how they can best be compared and analyzed. In
addition, TSA and others will have difficulty taking into account whether
at some point TSA may be unnecessarily duplicating risk management
activities already under way at other agencies and whether other agencies'
risk assessment methodologies, and the data generated by these
methodologies, can be leveraged to complete the assessments required for
the transportation sector. In the future, the implementation of DHS's
departmentwide proposed reorganization could affect decisions relating to
critical infrastructure protection as new directorates are established,
such as the directorates of policy and preparedness, and other
preparedness assets are consolidated from across the department.
FTA and FRA were the primary federal agencies involved in passenger rail
security matters prior to the creation of TSA. Before and after September
11, these two agencies launched a number of initiatives designed to
strengthen passenger rail security. TSA also took steps to strengthen rail
security, including issuing emergency security directives to rail
operators and testing emerging rail security technologies for screening
passengers and baggage. Rail industry stakeholders and federal agency
officials raised questions about how effectively DHS had collaborated with
them on rail security issues. DHS and DOT have signed a memorandum of
understanding intended to identify ways that collaboration with federal
and industry stakeholders might be improved.
Multiple Federal Agencies Have Taken Actions to Enhance Passenger Rail
Security
DOT Agencies Led Initial Efforts to Enhance Passenger Rail Security
Prior to the creation of TSA in November 2001, DOT agencies (i.e., modal
administrations)-notably FTA and FRA-were primarily responsible for the
security of passenger rail systems. These agencies undertook a number of
initiatives to enhance the security of passenger rail systems after
September 11. FTA, using an $18.7 million appropriation by the Department
of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2002, launched
a multipart transit security initiative, much of which is still in place.
The initiative included security readiness assessments, technical
assistance, grants for emergency response drills, and training. For
example, in 2003, FTA instituted the Transit Watch campaign-a nationwide
safety and security awareness program designed to encourage the active
participation of transit passengers and employees in maintaining a safe
transit environment. The program provides information and instructions to
transit passengers and employees so that they know what to do and whom to
contact in the event of an emergency in a transit setting. FTA plans to
continue this initiative, in partnership with TSA and ODP, and offer
additional security awareness materials that address unattended bags and
emergency evacuation procedures for transit agencies. In addition, FTA has
issued guidance, such as its Top 20 Security Program Action Items for
Transit Agencies, which recommends measures for passenger rail operators
to implement into their security programs to improve both security and
emergency preparedness.
FTA has also used research and development funds to develop guidance for
security design strategies to reduce the vulnerability of transit systems
to acts of terrorism. In November 2004, FTA provided rail operators with
security considerations for transportation infrastructure. This guidance
provided recommendations intended to help operators deter and minimize
attacks against their facilities, riders, and employees by incorporating
security features into the design of rail infrastructure.
FRA has also taken a number of actions to enhance passenger rail security
since September 11. For example, it has assisted commuter railroads in
developing security plans, reviewed Amtrak's security plans, and helped
fund FTA security readiness assessments for commuter railroads. More
recently, in the wake of the Madrid terrorist bombings, nearly 200 FRA
inspectors, in cooperation with DHS, conducted multi-day team inspections
of each of the 18 commuter railroads and Amtrak to determine what
additional security measures had been put into place to prevent a similar
occurrence in the United States. FRA also conducted research and
development projects related to passenger rail security. These projects
included rail infrastructure security and trespasser monitoring systems
and passenger screening and manifest projects, including explosives
detection.
Although DOT modal administrations now play a supporting role in
transportation security matters since the creation of TSA, they remain
important partners in the federal government's efforts to improve rail
security, given their role in funding and regulating the safety of
passenger rail systems. Moreover, as TSA moves ahead with its passenger
rail security initiatives, FTA and FRA are continuing their passenger rail
security efforts.
TSA Issued Mandatory Security Directives to Rail Operators but Faces
Challenges Related to Compliance and Enforcement
In response to the March 2004 commuter rail attacks in Madrid and federal
intelligence on potential threats against U.S. passenger rail systems, TSA
issued security directives to the passenger rail industry in May 2004. TSA
issued these security directives to establish a consistent baseline
standard of protective measures for all passenger rail operators,
including Amtrak.22 The directives were not related to, and were issued
independent of, TSA's efforts to conduct risk assessments to prioritize
rail security needs. TSA considered the measures required by the
directives to constitute mandatory security standards that were required
to be implemented within 72 hours of issuance by all passenger rail
operators nationwide. In an effort to provide some flexibility to the
industry, the directives allowed rail operators to propose alternative
measures to TSA in order to meet the required measures. Table 1 contains
examples of security measures required by these directives.
22According to TSA, in issuing the passenger rail and mass transit
security directives, TSA exercised its authorities under 49 U.S.C. 114. We
are currently examining whether TSA met all relevant legal requirements in
the promulgation of the directives.
Table 1: Examples of Measures Required by TSA Security Directives Issued to
Passenger Rail Operators and Amtrak
TSA directives require passenger rail operators to:
designate coordinators to enhance security-related communications with TSA
provide TSA with access to the latest security assessments and security plans
reinforce employee watch programs
ask passengers and employees to report unattended property or suspicious
behavior
remove trash receptacles at stations determined by a vulnerability
assessment to be at significant risk and only to the extent practical,
except for clear plastic or bomb-resistant containers
install bomb-resistant trash cans to the extent resources allow
utilize canine explosive detection teams, if available, to screen
passenger baggage, terminals, and trains
utilize surveillance systems to monitor for suspicious activity, to the
extent resources allow
allow TSA-designated canine teams at any time or place to conduct canine
operations
conduct frequent inspections of key facilities, stations, terminals, or other
critical assets for persons and items that do not belong
inspect each passenger rail car for suspicious or unattended items, at
regular periodic intervals
ensure that appropriate levels of policing and security are provided that
correlate to DHS threat levels and threat advisories
lock all doors that allow access to train operators' cab or compartment,
if equipped with locking mechanisms
require Amtrak to request that adult passengers provide identification at
the initial point where tickets are checked
Source: TSA.
Although TSA issued these directives, it is unclear how TSA developed the
required measures contained in the directives, how TSA plans to monitor
and ensure compliance with the measures, how rail operators are to
implement the measures, and which entities are responsible for their
implementation. According to the former DHS Undersecretary for Border and
Transportation Security, the directives were developed based upon
consultation with the industry and a review of best practices in passenger
rail and mass transit systems across the country and were intended to
provide a federal baseline standard for security. TSA officials stated to
us that the directives were based upon FTA and APTA best practices for
rail security. Specifically, TSA stated that it consulted a list of the
top 20 actions FTA identified that rail operators can take to strengthen
security, FTA-recommended protective measures and activities for transit
agencies that may be followed based on current threat levels, and an APTA
member survey. While some of the directives correlate to information
contained in the FTA guidance, such as advocating that rail personnel
watch for abandoned parcels, vehicles, and the like, the source for many
of the directives is unclear. For example, the source material TSA
consulted does not support the requirement that train cabs or compartment
doors should be kept locked. Furthermore, the sources do not necessarily
reflect industry best practices, according to FTA and APTA officials.
FTA's list of
recommended protective measures and the practices identified in the APTA
survey are not necessarily viewed as industry best practices. For example,
the APTA member survey that TSA used reports rail security practices that
are in use by operators but which are not best practices endorsed by the
group or other industry stakeholders.
TSA officials have stated that they understood the importance of
partnering with the rail industry on security matters, and that they would
draw on the expertise and knowledge of the transportation industry and
other DHS agencies, as well as all stakeholders, in developing security
standards for all modes of transportation, including rail. TSA officials
held an initial meeting with APTA, AAR, and Amtrak officials to discuss
the draft directives prior to their issuance and told them that they would
continue to be consulted prior to their final issuance. However, these
stakeholders were not given an opportunity to comment on a final draft of
the directives before their release because, according to TSA, DHS
determined that it was important to release the directives as soon as
possible to address a current threat to passenger rail. In addition, TSA
stated that because the directives needed to be issued quickly, there was
no public comment as part of the rule-making process. Shortly after the
directives were issued, TSA's Deputy Assistant Administrator for Maritime
and Land Security told rail operators at an APTA conference we attended in
June 2004 that if TSA determined that there is a need for the directives
to become permanent, they would undergo a notice-and-comment period as
part of the regulatory process. As of July 2005, TSA had not yet
determined whether it intends to pursue the rule-making process with a
notice and comment period.
APTA and AAR officials stated that because they were not consulted
throughout the development of the directives, the directives did not, in
their view, reflect a complete understanding of the passenger rail
environment or necessarily incorporate industry best practices. For
example, APTA, AAR, and some rail operators raised concerns about the
feasibility of installing bomb-resistant trash cans in rail stations
because they could direct the force of a bomb blast upward, possibly
causing structural damage in underground or enclosed stations. DHS's
Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness
recently conducted tests to determine the safety and effectiveness of 13
models of commercially available bomb-resistant trash receptacles. At the
time of our review, the results of these tests were not yet available.
Amtrak and FRA officials raised concerns about some of the directives, as
well, and told us they questioned whether the requirements reflected
industry best practices. For example, before the directives were issued,
Amtrak expressed concerns to TSA about the feasibility of the requirement
to check the identification of all adult passengers boarding its trains
because it did not have enough staff to perform these checks. However, the
final directive included this requirement, and after they were released,
Amtrak told TSA it could not comply with this requirement "without
incurring substantial additional costs and significant detrimental impacts
to its operations and revenues." Amtrak officials told us that since
passenger names would not be compared against any criminal or terrorist
watch list or database, the benefits of requiring such identification
checks were open to debate. To resolve its concern, and as allowed by the
directive, Amtrak proposed, and TSA accepted, random identification checks
of passengers as an alternative measure. FRA officials further stated that
current FRA safety regulations requiring engineer compartment doors be
kept unlocked to facilitate emergency escapes23 conflicts with the
security directive requirement that doors equipped with locking mechanisms
be kept locked. This requirement was not included in the draft directives
provided to stakeholders. TSA did call one commuter rail operator prior to
issuing the directives to discuss this potential proposed measure, and the
operator raised a concern about the safety of the locked door requirement.
TSA nevertheless included this requirement in the directives.
With respect to how the directives were to be enforced, rail operators
were required to allow TSA and DHS to perform inspections, evaluations, or
tests based on execution of the directives at any time or location. Upon
learning of any instance of noncompliance with TSA security measures, rail
operators were to immediately initiate corrective action. Monitoring and
ensuring compliance with the directives has posed challenges for TSA. In
the year after the directives were issued, TSA did not have dedicated
field staff to conduct on-site inspections. When the rail security
directives were issued, the former DHS Undersecretary for Border and
Transportation Security stated that TSA planned to form security
partnership teams with DOT, including FRA rail inspectors, to help ensure
that industry stakeholders complied with the directives. These teams were
to be established in order to tap into existing capabilities and avoid
duplication of effort across agencies. As of July 2005, these teams had
not yet been utilized to perform inspections. TSA has, however, hired rail
compliance inspectors to, among other things, monitor and enforce
2349 CFR 238.235.
compliance with the security directives. As of July 2005, TSA had hired 57
of up to 100 inspector positions authorized by Congress.24 However, TSA
has not yet established processes or criteria for determining and
enforcing compliance, including determining how rail inspectors or DOT
partnership teams will be used in this regard.
Establishing criteria for monitoring compliance with the directives may be
challenging because the language describing the required measures allows
for flexibility and does not define parameters. In an effort to
acknowledge the variable conditions that existed in passenger rail
environments, TSA designed the directives to allow flexibility in
implementation through the use of such phrases as "to the extent resources
allow," "to the extent practicable," and "if available." The directives
also include nonspecific instructions that may be difficult to measure or
monitor, telling operators to, for example, perform inspections of key
facilities at "regular periodic intervals" or to conduct "frequent
inspections" of passenger rail cars. When the directives were issued, TSA
stated that it would provide rail operators with performance-based
guidance and examples of announcements and signs that could be used to
meet the requirements of the directives, including guidance on the
appropriate frequency and method for inspecting rail cars and facilities.
However, as of July 2005, this information had not been provided.
Industry stakeholders we interviewed raised questions about how they were
to comply with the measures contained in the directives and which entities
were responsible for implementing the measures. According to an AAR
official, in June 2004, AAR officials and rail operators held a conference
call with TSA to obtain clarification on these issues. According to AAR
officials, in response to an inquiry about what would constitute
compliance for some of the measures, the then-TSA Assistant Administrator
for Maritime and Land Security told participants that the directives were
not intended to be overly prescriptive but were guidelines, and that
operators would have the flexibility to implement the directives as they
saw fit. The officials also asked for clarification on who was legally
responsible for ensuring compliance for measures where assets, such as
rail stations, were owned by freight railroads or private real estate
companies. According to AAR officials, TSA told them it was the
24These positions were funded through the DHS Appropriations Act of 2005
and its accompanying conference report, which provided TSA with $12
million in funding for rail security activities.
responsibility of the rail operators and asset owners to work together to
determine these responsibilities. However, according to AAR and rail
operators, given that TSA has hired rail inspectors and indicated its
intention to enforce compliance with the directives, it is critical that
TSA clarify what compliance entails for measures required by the
directives and which entities are responsible for compliance with measures
when rail assets are owned by one party but operated by another-such as
when private companies that own terminals or stations provide services for
commuter rail operations.
The challenges TSA has faced in developing security directives as
standards that reflect industry best practices-and that can be measured
and enforced-stem from the original emergency nature of the directives,
which were issued with limited input and review. TSA told rail industry
stakeholders when the directives were issued 15 months ago that the agency
would consider using the federal rule-making process as a means of making
the standards permanent. Doing so would require TSA to hold a
notice-and-comment period, resulting in a public record that reflects
stakeholders' input on the applicability and feasibility of implementing
the directives, along with TSA's rationale for accepting or rejecting this
input. While there is no guarantee that this process would produce more
effective security directives, it would be more transparent and could help
TSA in developing standards that are most appropriate for the industry and
can be measured, monitored, and enforced.
TSA Has Begun Testing Rail Security Technologies
In addition to issuing security directives, TSA also sought to enhance
passenger rail security by conducting research on technologies related to
screening passengers and checked baggage in the passenger rail
environment. Beginning in May 2004, TSA conducted a Transit and Rail
Inspection Pilot (TRIP) study, in partnership with DOT, Amtrak, the
Connecticut Department of Transportation, the Maryland Transit
Administration, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
(WMATA). TRIP was a $1.5 million, three-phase effort to test the
feasibility of using existing and emerging technologies to screen
passengers, carry-on items, checked baggage, cargo, and parcels for
explosives. Figure 4 summarizes TRIP's three-phased approach.
Figure 4: Summary Information on TSA's Transit and Rail Inspection Pilot
Program Phases
Phase I: Screen commuter rail passengers and carry-on baggage before
trains are boarded using an explosive detection device similar in
appearance to an airport metal detector and other explosive screening
technologies.
Phase II: Screen passenger baggage including checked baggage, unclaimed
baggage, and cargo on longhaul Amtrak trains prior to departure.
Phase III: Screen passengers and their carry-on baggage on board a moving
commuter rail train. All passengers are required to enter the train in the
specially designed screening car, which was a commuter rail passenger car
that been reconfigured to hold screening equipment and security personnel.
Source: TSA.
According to TSA, all three phases of the TRIP program were completed by
July 2004. However, TSA has not yet issued a planned report analyzing
whether the technologies could be used effectively to screen rail
passengers and their baggage. According to TSA officials, a report on
results and lessons learned from TRIP is under review by DHS. TSA
officials told us that based upon preliminary analyses, the screening
technologies and processes tested would be very difficult to implement on
more heavily used passenger rail systems because these systems carry high
volumes of passengers and have multiple points of entry. However, TSA
officials stated to us that the screening processes used in TRIP may be
useful on certain long-distance intercity train routes, which make fewer
stops. Further, officials stated that screening could be used either
randomly or for all passengers during certain high-risk events or in areas
where a particular terrorist threat is known to exist. For example,
screening technology similar to that used in TRIP was used by TSA to
screen certain passengers and belongings in Boston and New York during the
Democratic and Republican national conventions, respectively, in 2004.
APTA officials and the 28 passenger rail operators we interviewed-all who
are not directly involved in the pilot-agreed with TSA's preliminary
assessment. They told us they believed that the TRIP screening procedures
could not work in most passenger rail systems, given the number of
passengers using these systems and the open nature (e.g., multiple entry
points) of the systems. For example, as one operator noted, over 1,600
people pass through dozens of access points in New York's Penn Station per
minute during a typical rush hour, making screening of all passengers
very challenging, if not impossible. Passenger rail operators were also
concerned that screening delays could result in passengers opting to use
other modes of transportation. APTA officials and some rail operators we
interviewed said that had they been consulted by TSA, they would have
recommended alternative technologies to explore and indicated that they
hoped to be consulted on security technology pilot programs in the future.
FRA officials further stated that TSA could have benefited from earlier
and more frequent collaboration with them during the TRIP pilot than
occurred, and could have tapped their expertise to analyze TRIP results
and develop the final report. TSA research and development officials told
us that the agency has begun to consider and test security technologies
other than those used in TRIP, which may be more applicable to the
passenger rail environment. For example, TSA's and DHS's Science and
Technology Directorate are currently evaluating infrared cameras and
electronic metal detectors, among other things.
DHS and DOT Are Taking Steps to Improve Coordination and Collaboration
with Federal Agencies and Industry Stakeholders
In response to a previous recommendation we made in a June 2003 report on
transportation security, DHS and DOT signed a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) to develop procedures by which the two departments could improve
their cooperation and coordination for promoting the safe, secure, and
efficient movement of people and goods throughout the transportation
system. The MOU defines broad areas of responsibility for each department.
For example, it states that DHS, in consultation with DOT and affected
stakeholders, will identify, prioritize, and coordinate the protection of
critical infrastructure. The MOU between DHS and DOT represents an overall
framework for cooperation that is to be supplemented by additional signed
agreements, or annexes, between the departments. These annexes are to
delineate the specific securityrelated roles, responsibilities, resources,
and commitments for mass transit, rail, research and development, and
other matters. The annex for mass transit security was signed in September
2005.25 According to DHS and DOT officials, this annex is intended to
ensure that the programs and protocols for incorporating stakeholder
feedback and making enhancements to security measures are coordinated. For
example, the annex requires that DHS and DOT consult on such matters as
regulations
25Congress required that an annex to the MOU be signed that would, among
other things, define and clarify the respective transit security roles and
responsibilities of each department. Pub. L. 109-59, S: 3028 (2005).
and security directives that affect security and identifies points of
contact for coordinating this consultation.
In addition to their work on the MOU and related annexes, DHS and TSA have
taken other steps in an attempt to improve collaboration with DOT and
industry stakeholders. In April 2005, DHS officials stated that better
collaboration with DOT and industry stakeholders was needed to develop
strategic security plans associated with various homeland security
presidential directives and statutory mandates, such as the Intelligence
Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which required DHS to develop
a national strategy for transportation security in conjunction with DOT.
Responding to the need for better collaboration, DHS established a
senior-level steering committee in conjunction with DOT to coordinate
development of this national strategy. In addition, senior DHS and TSA
officials stated that industry groups will also be involved in developing
the national strategy for transportation security and other strategic
plans. Moreover, according to TSA's assistant administrator for intermodal
programs, TSA intends to work with APTA and other industry stakeholders in
developing security standards for the passenger rail industry.26
U.S. passenger rail operators have taken numerous actions to secure their
rail systems since the terrorist attacks of September 11, in the United
States, and the March 11, 2004, attacks in Madrid. These actions included
both improvements to system operations and capital enhancements to a
system's facilities, such as track, buildings, and train cars. All of the
U.S. passenger rail operators we contacted have implemented some types of
security measures-such as increased numbers and visibility of security
personnel and customer awareness programs-that were generally consistent
with those we observed in select countries in Europe and Asia. We also
identified three rail security practices-covert testing, random screening
of passengers and their baggage, and centralized research and
testing-utilized by foreign operators or their governments that are not
currently utilized by domestic rail operators or the U.S. government.27
26APTA is a standards development organization recognized by DOT that has
set standards for commuter rail, mass transit, and bus safety and
operations.
27At the time we completed our work in June 2005, these three practices
were not utilized. However, as discussed later in this report, some rail
operators began using random screening in the aftermath of the July bomb
attacks on the London subway system.
U.S. and Foreign Rail Operators Have Taken Similar Actions to Secure Rail
Systems, and Opportunities for Additional Domestic Security Actions May Exist
Actions Taken by U.S. and Foreign Passenger Rail Operators to Strengthen
Security Reflect Security Assessments, Budgetary Constraints, and Other
Factors
All 32 of the U.S. rail operators we interviewed or visited reported
taking specific actions to improve the security and safety of their rail
systems by, among other things, investing in new security equipment,
utilizing more law enforcement personnel, and establishing public
awareness campaigns. Passenger rail operators we spoke with cited the 1995
sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system and the September 11
terrorist attacks as catalysts for their security actions. After the
attacks, many passenger rail operators used FTA's security readiness
assessments of heavy and passenger rail systems as a guide to determine
how to prioritize their security efforts, as well as their own
understanding of their system's vulnerabilities, to determine what actions
to take to enhance security. Similarly, as previously mentioned, the rail
systems that underwent ODP risk assessments are currently using or plan to
use these assessments to guide their security actions. In addition, 20 of
the 32 U.S. operators we contacted or visited had conducted some type of
security assessment internally or through a contractor, separate from the
federally funded assessments. For example, some assessments evaluated
vulnerabilities of physical assets, such as tunnels and bridges,
throughout the passenger rail system. Passenger rail operators stated that
security-related spending by rail operators was also based, in part, on
budgetary considerations, as well as other practices used by other rail
operators that were identified through direct contact or during industry
association meetings.28 Passenger rail operators frequently made capital
investments to improve security, and these investments often are not part
of federal funding packages for new construction unless they are part of
new facilities being constructed. According to APTA, 54 percent of transit
agencies are facing increasing deficits, and no operator covers expenses
with fare revenue; thus, balancing operational and capital improvements
with security-related investments has been an ongoing challenge for these
operators. Several foreign rail operators we interviewed also stated that
funding for security enhancements was limited in light of other funding
priorities within the rail system, such as personnel costs and
infrastructure and equipment maintenance.
Foreign rail operators we visited also told us that risk assessments
played an important role in guiding security-related spending for rail.
For
28As we have previously reported, since the mid-1990s, federal funding for
transit and commuter rail operators has generally been limited to
assistance with capital projects involving building new transit service,
extensions of existing lines, or rehabilitation of existing transit
infrastructure, such as tracks, rolling stock, or stations. See
GAO-03-263.
example, one foreign rail operator with a daily ridership of 2.3 million
passengers used a risk management methodology to assess risks, threats,
and vulnerabilities to rail in order to guide security spending. The
methodology is part of the rail operator's corporate focus on overall
safety and security and is intended to help protect the operator's various
rail systems against, among other things, terrorist attacks, as well as
other forms of corporate loss, such as service disruption and loss of
business viability.
U.S. and Foreign Rail Operators Employ Similar Security Practices
Both U.S. and foreign passenger rail operators we contacted have
implemented similar improvements to enhance the security of their
systems.29 A summary of these efforts follows.
Customer awareness: Customer awareness programs we observed used signage
and announcements to encourage riders to alert train staff if they
observed suspicious packages, persons, or behavior. Of the 32 domestic
rail operators we interviewed, 30 had implemented a customer awareness
program or made enhancements to an existing program. Foreign rail
operators we visited also attempt to enhance customer awareness. For
example, 11 of the 13 operators we interviewed had implemented a customer
awareness program. Similar to programs of U.S. operators, these programs
used signage, announcements, and brochures to inform passengers and
employees about the need to remain vigilant and report any suspicious
activities. Only one of the European passenger rail operators that we
interviewed has not implemented a customer security awareness program,
citing the fear or panic that it might cause among the public.
Increased number and visibility of security personnel: Of the 32 U.S. rail
operators we interviewed, 23 had increased the number of security
personnel they utilized since September 11, to provide security throughout
their system or had taken steps to increase the visibility of their
security personnel. In addition to adding security personnel, many
operators stated that increasing the visibility of security was as
important as increasing the number of personnel. For example, several U.S.
and foreign rail operators we spoke with had instituted policies such as
requiring their security staff, in brightly colored vests, to patrol
trains or stations more frequently, so they are more visible to customers
and potential terrorists or criminals.
29Actions taken by Amtrak to enhance security are discussed later in this
testimony.
These policies make it easier for customers to contact security personnel
in the event of an emergency, or if they have spotted a suspicious item or
person. At foreign sites we visited, 10 of the 13 operators had increased
the number of their security officers throughout their systems in recent
years because of the perceived increase in risk of a terrorist attack.
Increased use of canine teams: Of the 32 U.S. passenger rail operators we
contacted, 21 had begun to use canine units, which include both dogs and
human handlers, to patrol their facilities or trains or had increased
their existing utilization of such teams. Often, these units are used to
detect the presence of explosives, and may be called in when a suspicious
package is detected. Some operators that did not maintain their own canine
units stated that it was prohibitively expensive to do so and that they
could call in local police canine units if necessary. In foreign countries
we visited, passenger rail operators' use of canines varied. In some Asian
countries, canines were not culturally accepted by the public and thus
were not used for rail security purposes. As in the United States, and in
contrast to Asia, most European passenger rail operators used canines for
explosive detection or as deterrents.
Employee training: All of the domestic and foreign rail operators we
interviewed had provided some type of security training to their staff,
either through in-house personnel or an external provider. In many cases,
this training consisted of ways to identify suspicious items and persons
and how to respond to events once they occur. For example, the London
Underground and the British Transport Police developed the "HOT" method
for its employees to identify suspicious items in the rail system. In the
HOT method, employees are trained to look for packages or items that are
Hidden, Obviously suspicious, and not Typical of the environment. Items
that do not meet these criteria would likely receive a lower security
response than an item meeting all of the criteria. However, if items meet
all of these criteria, employees are to notify station managers, who would
call in the authorities and potentially shut down the station or take
other action. According to London Underground officials, the HOT method
has significantly reduced the number of system disruptions caused when a
suspicious item was identified. Several passenger rail operators in the
United States and abroad have trained their employees in the HOT method.
Several domestic operators had also trained their employees in how to
respond to terrorist attacks and provided them with wallet-size cards
highlighting actions they should take in response to various forms of
attack. It is important to note that training such as the HOT method is
not designed to prevent acts of terrorism like the July 2005 London
attacks,
where suicide bombers killed themselves rather than leaving bombs behind.
Passenger and baggage screening practices: Some domestic and foreign rail
operators have trained employees to recognize suspicious behavior as a
means of screening passengers. Eight U.S. passenger rail operators we
contacted were utilizing some form of behavioral screening. For example,
the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which operates
Boston's T system, has utilized a behavioral screening system to identify
passengers exhibiting suspicious behavior. The Massachusetts State Police
train all MBTA personnel to be on the lookout for behavior that may
indicate someone has criminal intent, and to approach and search such
persons and their baggage when appropriate. Massachusetts State Police
officers have been training rail operators on this behavior profiling
system, and WMATA and New Jersey Transit were among the first additional
operators to implement the system. According to MBTA personnel, several
other operators have expressed interest in this system. Abroad, we found
that 4 of 13 operators we interviewed had implemented forms of behavioral
screening similar to MBTA's system.
All of the domestic and foreign rail operators we contacted have ruled out
an airport-style screening system for daily use in heavy traffic, where
each passenger and the passenger's baggage are screened by a magnetometer
or X-ray machine, based on cost, staffing, and customer convenience
factors, among others. For example, although the Spanish National Railway
screens passenger baggage using an X-ray machine on certain longdistance
trains that it believes could be at risk, all of the operators we
contacted stated that the cost, staffing requirements, delay of service,
and inconvenience to passengers would make such a system unworkable in
highly trafficked, inherently open systems like U.S. and foreign passenger
rail operations. In addition, one Asian rail official stated that his
organization was developing a contingency plan for implementing an
airport-style screening system, but that such a system would be used only
in the event of intelligence information indicating suicide bomb attacks
were imminent, or if several attacks had already occurred during a short
period of time. According to this official, the plan was in the initial
stages of development, and the organization did not know how quickly such
a system could be implemented.
Upgrading technology: Many rail operators we interviewed had embarked on
programs designed to upgrade their existing security technology. For
example, we found that 29 of the 32 U.S. operators had implemented a form
of CCTV to monitor their stations, yards, or trains.
While these cameras cannot be monitored closely at all times, because of
the large number of staff they said this would require, many rail
operators felt the cameras acted as a deterrent, assisted security
personnel in determining how to respond to incidents that have already
occurred, and could be monitored if an operator has received information
that an incident may occur at a certain time or place in their system. One
rail operator, New Jersey Transit, had installed "smart" cameras, which
were programmed to alert security personnel when suspicious activity
occurred, such as if a passenger left a bag in a certain location or if a
boat were to dock under a bridge. According to the New Jersey Transit
officials, this technology was relatively inexpensive and not difficult to
implement. Several other operators stated they were interested in
exploring this technology. Abroad, all 13 of the foreign rail operators we
visited had CCTV systems in place. As in the United States, foreign rail
operators use these cameras primarily as a crime deterrent and to respond
to incidents after they occur, because they do not have enough staff to
continuously monitor all of these cameras.
In addition, 18 of the 32 U.S. rail operators we interviewed had installed
new emergency phones or enhanced the visibility of the intercom systems
they already had. Passengers can use these systems to contact train
operators or security personnel to report suspicious activity, crimes in
progress, or other problems. Furthermore, while most rail operators we
spoke with had not installed chemical or biological agent detection
equipment because of the costs involved, a few operators had this
equipment or were exploring purchasing it. For example, WMATA, in
Washington, D.C., has installed these sensors in some of its stations,
thanks to a program jointly sponsored by DOT and the Department of Energy
that provided this equipment to WMATA because of the high perceived
likelihood of an attack in Washington, D.C. Also, at least three other
domestic rail operators we spoke with are exploring the possibility of
partnering with federal agencies to install such equipment in their
facilities on an experimental basis.
Also, as in the United States, a few foreign operators had implemented
chemical or biological detection devices at these rail stations, but their
use was not widespread. Two of the 13 foreign operators we interviewed had
implemented these sensors, and both were doing so on an experimental
basis. In addition, police officers from the British Transport Police-
responsible for policing the rail system in the United Kingdom-were
equipped with pagers to detect chemical, biological, or radiological
elements in the air, allowing them to respond quickly in case of a
terrorist attack using one of these methods. The British Transit Police
also has
three vehicles carrying devices to determine if unattended baggage
contains explosives-these vehicles patrol the system 24 hours per day.
Access control: Tightening access procedures at key facilities or
rightsof-way is another way many rail operators have attempted to enhance
security. A majority of domestic and selected foreign passenger rail
operators had invested in enhanced systems to control unauthorized access
at employee facilities and stations. Specifically, 23 of the 32 U.S.
operators had installed a form of access control at key facilities and
stations. This often involved installing a system where employees had to
swipe an access card to gain access to control rooms, repair facilities,
and other key locations. All 13 foreign operators had implemented some
form of access control to their critical facilities or rights-of-way.
These measures varied from simple alarms on doors at electrical
substations on one subway system we visited to infrared sensors monitoring
every inch of right-of-way along the track on three of the high-speed
interurban rail systems.
Rail system design and configuration: In an effort to reduce
vulnerabilities to terrorist attack and increase overall security,
passenger rail operators in the United States and abroad have been, or are
now beginning to, incorporate security features into the design of new and
existing rail infrastructure, primarily rail stations. For example, of the
32 domestic rail operators we contacted, 22 of them had removed their
conventional trash bins entirely, or replaced them with transparent or
bomb-resistant trash bins, as TSA instructed in its May 2004 security
directives. Foreign rail operators had taken steps to remove traditional
trash bins from their systems. Of the 13 operators we visited, 8 had
either removed their trash bins entirely or replaced them with
blast-resistant cans or transparent receptacles.
Many foreign rail operators are also incorporating aspects of security
into the design of their rail infrastructure. Of the 13 operators we
visited, 11 have attempted to design new facilities with security in mind
and have attempted to retrofit older facilities to incorporate
security-related modifications. For example, one foreign operator we
visited is retrofitting its train cars with windows that passengers could
open in the event of a chemical attack. In addition, the London
Underground, one of the oldest rail systems in the world, incorporates
security into the design of all its new stations as well as when existing
stations are modified. We observed several security features in the design
of Underground stations, such as using vending machines that have no holes
that someone could use to hide a bomb, and sloped tops to reduce the
likelihood that a bomb can be
placed on top of the machine. In addition, stations are designed to
provide staff with clear lines of sight to all areas of the station, such
as underneath benches or ticket machines, and station designers try to
eliminate or restrict access to any recessed areas where a bomb could be
hidden.
In one London station, we observed the use of netting throughout the
station to help prevent objects, such as bombs, from being placed in a
recessed area, such as beneath a stairwell or escalator. In this station
and other stations we visited, Underground officials have installed "help
posts" at which customers can call for help if an incident occurs. When
these posts are activated, CCTV cameras display a video image of the help
post and surrounding area to staff at a central command center. This
allows the staff to directly observe the situation and respond
appropriately. See figure 5 for a photograph of a help post.
Figure 5: Security Design Elements Incorporated into London's Underground
Source: London Underground.
The "help post" in this London Underground rail station allows passengers
to contact station security staff in an emergency. Once activated, the
CCTV camera would be turned on so security staff could monitor the
situation and identify what actions to take.
Underground officials stated that the incorporation of security features
in station design is an effective measure in deterring some terrorists
from attacking the system. For example, officials told us that CCTV video
recorded the efforts by Irish Republican Army terrorists attempting to
place an explosive device inside a station-and when they could not find a
suitable location to hide the device, they placed it outside in a trash
can instead, thereby mitigating the impact of the explosion.
In the United States, several passenger rail operators stated that they
were taking security into account when designing new facilities or
remodeling older ones. Twenty-two of 32 rail operators we interviewed told
us that they were incorporating security into the design of new or
existing rail infrastructure. For example, New York City Transit and PATH
officials told us they are incorporating security into the design of its
new stations, including the redesigned Fulton Street station and the World
Trade Center Hub that were damaged or destroyed during the September 11
attacks. In addition, in June 2005, FTA issued guidelines for use by the
transit industry encouraging the incorporation of particular security
features into
the design of transit infrastructure. These guidelines include, for
example, increasing visibility for onboard staff, reducing the areas where
someone could hide an explosive device on a transit vehicle, and enhancing
emergency exits in transit stations.
Figure 6 shows a diagram of several security measures that we observed in
passenger rail stations both in the United States and abroad. It should be
noted that this represents an amalgam of stations we visited, not any
particular station.
Amtrak Faces Challenges Specific to Intercity Passenger Rail in Securing
Its System
In securing its extensive system, Amtrak faces its own set of
securityrelated challenges, some of which are different from those facing
a commuter rail or transit operator. First, Amtrak operates over thousands
of miles, often far from large population centers. This makes its route
system much more difficult to patrol and monitor than one contained in a
particular metropolitan region, and it causes delays in responding to
incidents when they occur in remote areas. Also, outside the Northeast
Corridor, Amtrak operates almost exclusively on tracks owned by freight
rail companies. Amtrak also utilizes stations owned by freight rail
companies, transit and commuter rail authorities, private corporations,
and municipal governments. This means that Amtrak often cannot
unilaterally make security improvements to others' rights-of-way or
station facilities and that it is reliant on the staff of other
organizations to patrol their facilities and respond to incidents that may
occur. Furthermore, with over 500 stations, only half of which are
staffed, screening even a small portion of the passengers and baggage
boarding Amtrak trains is difficult. Last, Amtrak's financial condition
has never been strong-Amtrak has been on the edge of bankruptcy several
times.
Amid the ongoing challenges of securing its coast-to-coast railway, Amtrak
has taken some actions to enhance security throughout its intercity
passenger rail system. For example, Amtrak has initiated a passenger
awareness campaign, similar to those described elsewhere in this report.
Also, Amtrak has begun enforcing existing restrictions on carry-on luggage
that limit passengers to two carry-on bags, not exceeding 50 pounds. All
bags also must have identification tags on them. Furthermore, Amtrak has
begun requiring passengers to show positive identification after boarding
trains when asked by staff to ensure that tickets have not been
transferred or stolen, although Amtrak officials acknowledge their onboard
staffs only sporadically enforce this requirement because of the numerous
tasks these staff members must perform before a train departs. However, in
November 2004, Amtrak implemented the Tactical Intensive Patrols (TIPS)
program, under which its security staff flood selected platforms to ensure
Amtrak baggage and identification requirements are met by passengers
boarding trains. In addition, Amtrak increased the number of canine units
patrolling its system, most of which are located in the Northeast
Corridor, looking for explosives or narcotics and assigned some of its
police to ride trains in the Northeast Corridor. Also, Amtrak has
instituted a policy of randomly inspecting checked luggage on its trains.
Finally, Amtrak is making improvements to the emergency exits in certain
tunnels to make evacuating trains in the tunnels easier in the event of a
crash or terrorist attack.
To ensure that security measures are applied consistently throughout
Amtrak's system, Amtrak has established a series of Security Coordinating
Committees, which include representatives of all Amtrak departments. These
committees are to review and establish security policies, in coordination
with Amtrak's police department, and have worked to develop
countermeasures to specific threats. According to Amtrak, in the aftermath
of the July 2005 London bombings, these committees met with Amtrak police
and security staff to ensure additional security measures were
implemented. Also in the wake of the London attacks, Amtrak began working
with the police forces of several large east coast cities, allowing them
to patrol Amtrak stations to provide extra security. In addition, all
Amtrak employees now receive a "Daily Security Awareness Tip" and are
receiving computer-based security training. Amtrak police officers are
also now receiving specialized counterterrorism training.
While Amtrak has taken the actions outlined above, it is difficult to
determine if these actions appropriately or sufficiently addressed
pressing security needs. As discussed earlier, Amtrak has not performed a
comprehensive terrorism risk assessment that would provide an empirical
baseline for investment prioritization and decision making for Amtrak's
security policies and investment plans. However, as part of the 2005
Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program, Amtrak is required to produce a
security and emergency preparedness plan, which is to include a risk
assessment that Amtrak currently expects to finish by December 31, 2005.
Upon completing this plan, Amtrak management should have a more informed
basis regarding which security enhancements should receive the highest
priority for implementation.
Three Foreign Rail Security Practices Are Not Currently Used in the United
States
While many of the security practices we observed in foreign rail systems
are similar to those U.S. passenger rail operators are implementing, we
encountered three practices in other countries that were not currently in
use among the domestic passenger rail operators we contacted as of June
2005, nor were they performed by the U.S. government. These practices are
discussed below.
Covert testing: Two of the 13 foreign rail systems we visited utilize
covert testing to keep employees alert about their security
responsibilities. Covert testing involves security staff staging
unannounced events to test the response of railroad staff to incidents
such as suspicious packages or setting off alarms. In one European system,
this covert testing involves security staff placing suspicious items
throughout their system to see how long it takes operating staff to
respond to the item. Similarly, one Asian
rail operator's security staff will break security seals on fire
extinguishers and open alarmed emergency doors randomly to see how long it
takes staff to respond. Officials of these operators stated that these
tests are carried out on a daily basis and are beneficial because their
staff know they could be tested at any moment, and they, therefore, are
more likely to be vigilant with respect to security.
Random screening: Of the 13 foreign operators we interviewed, 2 have some
form of random screening of passengers and their baggage in place. In the
systems where this is in place, security personnel can approach passengers
either in stations or on the trains and ask them to submit their persons
or their baggage to a search. Passengers declining to cooperate must leave
the system. For example, in Singapore, rail agency officials rotate the
stations where they conduct random searches so that the searches are
carried out at a different station each day. Prior to the July 2005 London
bombings, no passenger rail operators in the United States were practicing
a form of random passenger or baggage screening on a continuing daily
basis. However, during the Democratic National Convention in 2004, MBTA
instituted a system of random screening of passengers, where every 11th
passenger at certain stations and times of the day was asked to provide
his or her bags to be screened. Those who refused were not allowed to ride
the system. MBTA officials recognized that it is impossible to implement
such a system comprehensively throughout the rail network without massive
amounts of additional staff, and that even doing random screening on a
regular basis would be a drain on resources. However, officials stated
that such a system is workable during special events and times of
heightened security but would have to be designed very carefully to ensure
that passengers' civil liberties were not violated. After the July 2005
London bombings, four passenger rail operators-PATH, New York Metropolitan
Transportation Authority, New Jersey Transit, and Utah Transit Authority
in Salt Lake City-implemented limited forms of random bag screening in
their system. In addition, APTA, FTA, and the National Academy of
Science's Transportation Research Board are currently conducting a study
on the benefits and challenges that passenger rail operators would face in
implementing a randomized passenger screening system. The study is
examining such issues as the legal basis for conducting passenger
screening or search, the precedence for such measures in the
transportation environment, the human resources required, and the
financial implications and cost considerations involved.
National government maintains clearinghouse on technologies and best
practices: According to passenger rail operators in five countries we
visited, their national governments have centralized the process for
performing research and developing passenger rail security technologies
and maintaining a clearinghouse on these technologies and security best
practices. According to these officials, this allows rail operators to
have one central source for information on the merits of a particular
passenger rail security technology, such as chemical sensors, CCTVs, and
intrusion detection devices. Some U.S. rail operators we interviewed
expressed interest in there being a more active centralized federal
research and development authority in the United States to evaluate and
certify passenger rail security technologies and make that information
available to rail operators. Although TSA is the primary federal agency
responsible for conducting transportation security research and
development, and has conducted the TRIP as previously mentioned, most of
the agency's research and development efforts to date have focused on
aviation security technologies. As a result, domestic rail operators told
us that they rely on consultations with industry trade associations, such
as APTA, to learn about best practices for passenger rail security
technologies and related investments. Several rail operators stated that
they were often unsure of where to turn when seeking information on
security-related products, such as CCTV cameras or intrusion detection
systems. Currently, many operators said they informally ask other rail
operators about their experiences with a certain technology, perform their
own research via the Internet or trade publications, or perform their own
testing.
No federal agency has compiled or disseminated best practices to rail
operators to aid in this process. We have previously reported that
stakeholders have stated that the federal government should play a greater
role in testing transportation security technology and making this
information available to industry stakeholders.30 TSA and DOT agree that
making the results of research testing available to industry stakeholders
could be a valuable use of federal resources by reducing the need for
multiple rail operators to perform the same research and development
efforts, but they have not taken action to address this.31
Implementing these three practices-covert testing, random screening, and a
government-sponsored clearinghouse for technologies and best practices-in
the United States could pose political, legal, fiscal, and cultural
challenges because of the differences between the United States
30GAO-03-843. 31See GAO-03-843.
and these foreign nations. For instance, many foreign nations have dealt
with terrorist attacks on their public transportation systems for decades,
compared with the United States, where rail transportation has not been
specifically targeted during terrorist attacks. According to foreign rail
operators, these experiences have resulted in greater acceptance of
certain security practices, such as random searches, which the U.S. public
may view as a violation of their civil liberties or which may discourage
them from using public transportation. The impact of security measures on
passengers is an important consideration for domestic rail transit
operators, since most passengers could choose another means of
transportation, such as a personal automobile. As such, security measures
that limit accessibility, cause delays, increase fares, or otherwise cause
inconvenience could push people away from transit and into their cars. In
contrast, the citizens of the European and Asian countries we visited are
more dependent on public transportation than most U.S. residents and
therefore, according to the rail operators we spoke with, may be more
willing to accept more intrusive security measures, simply because they
have no other choice for getting from place to place. Nevertheless, in
order to identify innovative security measures that could help further
mitigate terrorism-related risk to rail assets-especially as part of a
broader risk management approach discussed earlier-it is important to at
least consider assessing the feasibility and costs and benefits of
implementing the three rail security practices we identified in foreign
countries in the United States. Officials from DHS, DOT, passenger rail
industry associations, and rail systems we interviewed told us that
operators would benefit from such an evaluation. Furthermore, the
passenger rail association officials told us that such an evaluation
should include practices used by foreign rail operators that integrate
security into infrastructure design.
Differences in the business models and financial status of some foreign
rail operators could also affect the feasibility of adopting certain
security practices in the United States. Several foreign countries we
visited have privatized their passenger rail operations. Although most of
the foreign rail operators we visited-even the privatized systems-rely on
their governments for some type of financial assistance, two foreign rail
operators generated significant revenue and profits in other business
endeavors, which they said allowed them to invest heavily in security
measures for their rail systems. In particular, the Paris Metro system is
operated by the RATP Corporation (Regie Autonome des Transports
Parisiens), which also contracts with other cities in France and
throughout the world to provide consulting and project management
services. RATP's ability to make a profit, according to its officials,
through its consulting
services allows the agency to supplement government funding in order to
support expensive security measures for the Paris mass transit system. For
example, RATP recently installed a computer-assisted security control
system that uses CCTV, radio, and global positioning technology that it
says has significantly reduced the amount of time it takes for security or
emergency personnel to respond to an incident or emergency, such as a
terrorist attack. Because of RATP's available funding for security, the
corporation also purchased an identical system for the Metropolitan Paris
Police, so the RATP and the police system would be compatible. In
contrast, domestic rail operators do not generate a profit and therefore
are dependent on financial assistance from the federal, state, and local
levels of government to maintain and enhance services, including funding
security improvements.
Another important difference between domestic and foreign rail operators
is the structure of their police forces. In particular, England, France,
Belgium, and Spain all have national police forces patrolling rail systems
in these countries. The use of a national police force is a reflection
that these foreign countries often have one nationalized rail system,
rather than over 30 rail transit systems owned and operated by numerous
state and local governments, as is the case in the United States. For
example, in France, the French National Railway operates all intercity
passenger rail services in the country and utilizes the French Railway
police to provide security. According to foreign rail operators, the use
of one national rail police force allows for consistent policing and
security measures throughout the country. In the United States, in
contrast, there is not a national police force for the rail transit
systems.32 Rather, some transit agencies maintain individual polices
forces, while others rely on their city or county police forces for
security.
In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, we are encouraged by the steps DHS components
have taken to use elements of a risk management approach to guide critical
infrastructure protection decisions for the passenger rail industry.
However, enhanced federal leadership is needed to help ensure that actions
and investments designed to enhance security are properly focused and
prioritized, so that finite resources may be allocated appropriately to
help protect all modes of transportation and secure other
32Unlike domestic rail transit agencies, Amtrak maintains a 342-member
police force for its national network.
Conclusions
national critical infrastructure sectors. Leadership on this issue should
reflect the shared responsibilities required to coordinate actions on the
part of federal, state, and local governments; the private sector; and
rail passengers who ride these systems.
Specifically, both DHS and TSA could take additional steps to help ensure
that the risk management efforts under way clearly and effectively
identify priority areas for security-related investments in rail and other
sectors. We recognize that TSA has had many aviation security-related
responsibilities and has implemented many security initiatives to meet
legislative requirements. Notwithstanding, TSA has not yet completed its
methodology for determining how the results of threat, criticality, and
vulnerability assessments will be used to identify and prioritize risks to
passenger rail and other transportation sectors. In order to complete and
apply its methodology as part of the forthcoming transportation
sectorspecific plan, TSA needs to more consistently involve industry
stakeholders in the overall risk assessment process and collaborate with
them on collecting and analyzing information on critical infrastructure
and key resources in the passenger rail industry. Without consistent and
substantive stakeholder input, TSA may not be able to fully capture
critical information on rail assets-information that is needed to properly
assess risk. In addition, as part of the process to complete its risk
assessment methodology, TSA needs to consider whether other proven
approaches, such as ODP's risk assessment methodology, could be leveraged
for rail and other transportation modes, such as aviation. Until the
overall risk to the entire transportation sector is identified, TSA will
not be able to fully benefit from the outcome of risk management
analysis-including determining where and how to target the nation's
limited resources to achieve the greatest security gains.
Once risk assessments for the passenger rail industry have been completed,
it will be critical to be able to compare assessment results across all
transportation modes as well as other critical sectors and make informed,
risk-based investment trade-offs. The framework that DHS is developing to
help ensure that risks to all sectors can be analyzed and compared in a
consistent way needs to be completed and shared with TSA and other
sector-specific agencies. The delay in completing the element of the
framework that defines concepts, terminology, and metrics for assessing
risk limits DHS's ability to compare risk across sectors as sectorspecific
agencies are concurrently conducting risk assessment activities without
this guidance. Until this framework is complete, it will not be possible
for information from different sectors to be reconciled to allow
for a meaningful comparison of risk-a goal outlined in DHS's interim NIPP.
Apart from its efforts to formally identify risks, TSA has taken steps to
enhance the security of the overall passenger rail system. The issuance of
security directives in the wake of the Madrid bombings was a
wellintentioned effort to take swift action in response to a current
threat. However, because these directives were issued under emergency
circumstances, with limited input and review by rail industry and federal
stakeholders-and no public comment period-they may not provide the
industry with baseline security standards based on industry best
practices. Nor is it clear how these directives are to be measured and
enforced. Consequently, neither the federal government nor rail operators
can be sure they are requiring and implementing security practices proven
to help prevent or mitigate disasters. Collaborating with rail industry
stakeholders to develop security standards is an important starting point
for strengthening the security of passenger rail systems.
While foreign passenger rail operators face similar challenges to securing
their systems and have generally implemented similar security practices as
U.S. rail operators, there are some practices that are utilized abroad
that U.S. rail operators or the federal government have not studied in
terms of the feasibility, costs, and benefits. For example, an information
clearinghouse for new passenger rail technologies that are available and
have been tested might allow rail operators to efficiently implement
technologies that had already received approval. In addition, while FTA
plans to require rail operators to consider its security infrastructure
design guidelines when renovating or constructing rail systems or
facilities, opportunities may still exist to further research and evaluate
ways of integrating security into design, as some foreign rail operators
have done. Another rail security practice-covert testing of rail security
procedures- is being used in two foreign rail systems we visited and is
considered by them as an effective means of keeping rail employees alert
to their surroundings and potential security threats. And finally, random
searches of passengers and baggage are being used by two foreign rail
operators and this practice has recently been adopted by four domestic
rail operators in the wake of the London attacks.
Introducing these security practices into the United States may involve
cultural, financial, and political challenges, owing to differences
between the United States and foreign nations. Nonetheless, as part of the
overall risk management approach, there may be compelling reasons for
exploring the feasibility, costs, and benefits of implementing any of
these
practices in the United States. Doing so could enable the United States to
leverage the experiences and knowledge of foreign passenger rail operators
and help identify additional innovative measures to secure rail systems
against terrorist attack in this country.
In our recently issued report on passenger rail security, we recommended,
among other things, that to help ensure that the federal government has
the information it needs to prioritize passenger rail assets based on
risk, and in order to evaluate, select, and implement commensurate
measures to help the nation's passenger rail operators protect their
systems against acts of terrorism, TSA should establish a plan with
timelines for completing its methodology for conducting risk assessments
and develop security standards that reflect industry best practices and
can be measured and enforced, by using the federal rule-making process. In
addition, we recommended that the Secretary of DHS, in collaboration with
DOT and the passenger rail industry, determine the feasibility, in a risk
management context, of implementing certain security practices used by
foreign rail operators. DHS, DOT, and Amtrak generally agreed with the
report's recommendations.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer
any questions that you or other members of the Committee may have at this
time.
Contact Information For further information on this testimony, please
contact Cathleen A. Berrick at (202) 512-3404 or JayEtta Z. Hecker at
(202) 512-2834. Individuals making key contributions to this testimony
include Seto Bagdoyan, Amy Bernstein, Leo Barbour, Christopher Currie,
Nikki Clowers, David Hooper, Kirk Kiester, and Ray Sendejas.
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