(The Association of American Railroads posted the following statement on its website on January 24.)
Statement Of
Nancy L. Wilson
Senior Assistant Vice President, Safety And Security
Association Of American Railroads
Before The
Committee On Public Works And The Environment
District Of Columbia City Council
Public Hearing On
Bill 15-525
The Terrorism Prevention And Safety In Hazardous Materials Transportation Act Of 2004
January 23, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On behalf of our members, thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today to discuss the important issue of railroad security. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) represents the major North American railroads, which account for the vast majority of rail mileage, employees, and revenue in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The rail industry reacted swiftly to the events of September 11, in full cooperation with government authorities. In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, railroads tightened security and intensified inspections across their systems. Major railroads, which maintain their own police forces to help assure the security of employees, property, and freight, put into place more than 50 countermeasures to ensure the security of the industry. Access to important rail facilities and information was restricted. The industry significantly increased cyber-security procedures and techniques. Employee records were compared with FBI terrorist lists. Security briefings, like safety briefings, became a daily part of an employee?s job.
At the same time they were attending to security issues, though, railroads realized they had a responsibility to keep our nation’s vital rail-transport link open to support the nation?s economy, national defense and public health. Rail service is critical to military mobilization and re-supply. The Department of Defense (DOD) has designated a Strategic Rail Corridor Network (STRACNET) comprised of 30,000 miles of rail corridors. Railroads transported 98% of the ammunition used by the U.S. in the Iraq war.
Freight railroads transport 42% of intercity ton-miles, 64% of coal used for electric power, 40% of the grain harvest, 70% of automobiles made in America and 20% of chemicals. Railroads carry a much higher percentage of those chemicals essential to the public health, such as chlorine.
The impact on water treatment facilities and pharmaceutical manufacturers of even a short rail shutdown would be immediate and severe. The rail industry has therefore been working very closely with the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Homeland Security Council at the White House to address in an analytical way the vulnerabilities associated with the transportation of these and other important chemicals.
Many hazardous materials are key ingredients in products that contribute to the health, safety and economic vitality of the nation, and railroads deliver thousands of cars containing those products without incident every day of the year. In order to respond to, mitigate, and minimize the impact of dangerous and unusual incidents, however, railroads have established and practiced programs and procedures to protect the communities we serve and our employees, and to sustain the fluid flow of freight on which our economy depends. These programs and procedures include the establishment of emergency response plans for hazardous materials incidents and natural disasters, operational and administration backup capability, and the training of rail employees and public emergency response personnel. These programs and procedures can and will be invoked in the event of a terrorist attack involving railroads.
The intent of Bill 15-525, the subject of this hearing, is to reroute hazardous materials away from Washington, D.C., through other communities instead. Leaving aside whether transferring risk from one group of citizens to another is acceptable public policy, the Committee should be aware that there are serious safety issues associated with routing decisions. Safety can be compromised as exposure increases. For example, rerouting can involve an increase in miles traveled, and those additional miles could be on rail infrastructure less suitable (for a variety of reasons) to handling hazardous materials. Emergency response capability along alternate routes often lacks requisite expertise in handling the most dangerous commodities. Additional switching and handling of cars along with added “dwell time” in yards, all consequences of using less efficient routes, also have the effect of increasing exposure.
Today, railroads continue to provide vital services to the nation by remaining in 24 hour / 7 day a week communication with DHS intelligence and security personnel, the National Joint Terrorism Task Force (NJTTF) at the FBI, DOT, DOD and state and local law enforcement officers. Knowledgeable railroad analysts work literally side-by-side with government intelligence analysts at NJTTF and in two intelligence offices within DHS (the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate and the Transportation Security Administration) to help evaluate intelligence at the Top Secret level. Through the Railroad Alert Network, AAR?s Operations Center, which is cleared to handle government intelligence at the ?Secret? level, disseminates threat and warning information to the railroads? operations centers and railroad police.
The railroads have detailed action plans in place to respond immediately to special situations and credible threats to our transportation network. Recent examples include a broad range of added security measures sustained nationwide throughout the Christmas/New Year holiday period and extraordinary actions taken by CSX Transportation Company during the State of the Union address earlier this week. All this was done in close coordination with DHS, DOD and other government agencies.
In late September 2001, the AAR Board of Directors established a Railroad Security Task Force with the full participation of AAR members, including our Canadian and Mexican members, and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA). The overarching focus of this Task Force is 1) to ensure the safety of our employees and the communities in which we operate; 2) to protect the viability of national and regional economic activity; and 3) to ensure that railroads can play their vital role in the military mission of our nation.
The Railroad Security Task Force, under the direction of AAR?s President/CEO, conducted a comprehensive risk analysis of the industry and devised a security management plan. Using CIA and national intelligence community “best practices,” five[1] critical action teams, consisting of more than 150 experienced railroad, customer and intelligence personnel, examined and prioritized all railroad assets, vulnerabilities and threats. A brief description of each of the five critical action teams follows:
1. Information Technology and Communications
This team examined the security of communications, control systems, and information systems for the industry, including the evaluation of procedures regarding system redundancy, data confidentiality, emergency incident handling and reconstitution of service. Many additional security measures were implemented immediately across the industry.
2. Physical Infrastructure
This team assessed the physical security of essential bridges, buildings, dispatch centers, tunnels, storage facilities, and other structures. A database of critical assets was created and recorded in a Geographic Information System. The team also addressed cross-border and port “gateway” physical security issues.
3. Operational Security
This team documented the “life cycle of a train” and determined ways to minimize exposure to unplanned occurrences while trains are in operation. It also addressed the issue of fuel supply.
4. Hazardous Materials
This team examined the transport of hazardous materials by rail, with emphasis on materials such as potentially poisonous gases that pose the greatest potential safety risk. The team identified current shipping patterns for these materials and worked closely with the chemical industry and tank car manufacturers to evaluate alternatives, including routing restrictions, product remanufacturing and packaging.
5. Military Liaison
This team worked with the Department of Defense and its Military Traffic Management Command to determine immediate and ongoing military traffic requirements and to identify capacity, security, and equipment needs of the industry to meet military demand.
The resulting “Terrorism Risk Analysis and Security Management Plan” (Plan) is a crosscutting, priority-based plan for actions necessary to enhance the security of the nation?s freight rail network and its ability to support the nation?s economy, national defense and public health. The AAR Board of Directors adopted the Plan on December 6, 2001. The security process and analyses detailed in the Plan, including the actions and countermeasures, are periodically evaluated for effectiveness and to ensure maximum efficiencies from advances in security technology and procedures.
The rail industry?s Plan defines four alert levels and details the actions to be taken at each level as the terrorist threat increases. Alert level actions are applied in the areas of operations (including transportation, engineering and mechanical), information technology/telecommunications and railroad police.
Alert Level 1 is stated as “New Normal Day to Day Operations” and exists when a general threat of possible terrorist activity exists but warrants only a routine security posture. The nature and extent of terrorist attacks are unpredictable, and prevailing circumstances do not justify full implementation of a higher alert level. Thirty-two actions are in effect at this level, including:
— Conduct security training and awareness activities.
— Do not disclose information to anyone who does not have a need-to-know.
— Turn off capabilities for tracing certain hazardous material, military, spent nuclear fuel and other sensitive materials by unauthenticated users.
— Periodically test that security systems are operating as intended.
Alert Level 2 is stated as “Heightened Security Awareness” and applies when there is a general non-specific threat of possible terrorist activity involving railroad personnel and facilities. Twenty-one additional actions are in effect at this level, such as:
— Include security and awareness briefings as part of daily job briefings.
— Conduct content inspections of cars and containers for cause.
— Conduct spot content inspections of motor vehicles on railroad property.
— Increase security at designated facilities.
As of this writing, the railroad industry is at Alert Level 2, with a number of added security actions focused on transportation of certain hazardous materials in several metropolitan areas, including Washington, DC. These extra precautions are in place to address special circumstances as described to the railroad industry by the Department of Homeland Security.
Alert Level 3 is stated as “a Credible Threat of an attack on the U.S. or railroad industry” and applies when an increased, credible and more specific threat of terrorist activity exists. A decision to declare Level 3 will be evaluated in light of the specificity of threat against railroad personnel and facilities. The 40 additional actions in Level 3 must be capable of being maintained for weeks without causing undue hardship on the railroad or its customers. Examples of Level 3 actions are:
— Further restrict physical access and increase security vigilance at control centers, communications hubs, and other designated facilities.
— Begin 24-hour surveillance at fuel storage and handling facilities.
— Request National Guard security for critical assets.
Alert Level 4 is stated as “a Confirmed Threat of attack against the railroad industry or actual attack in the U.S.” and applies when a confirmed threat against the railroad industry exists, an actual attack against the railroad or an attack in the U.S. causing mass casualties has occurred, or other imminent actions create grave concerns about the safety of operations. There are 19 additional actions to be implemented at this level that will be instituted for up to 72 hours and periodically evaluated for continuation. These include:
— Stop non-mission-essential contract services with access to critical facilities and systems.
— Dispatchers verify to crews absolute meet/pass points with passenger trains.
— Increase vigilance and scrutiny of railcars and equipment during mechanical inspections looking for unusual items.
— Ensure continuous presence of guards at designated facilities and structures.
Alert Levels 3 and 4 can be declared industry-wide for a short period of time or can apply in the immediate geographic or operational area (e.g., Mid-West or Hazardous Materials) where or when intelligence has identified that terrorist action against a specific location or operation is imminent.
As previously mentioned, AAR established a Railway Alert Network (RAN) to monitor the threat and alert the rail industry if it changes. The hub of the RAN is AAR?s Operations Center, which is staffed with mobile communications 24×7 at Alert Level 2, and physically staffed at Levels 3 and 4. Originally established for handling of physical threat information, the RAN is now linked to the Surface Transportation Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ST-ISAC) to provide a robust capability of collecting, analyzing and disseminating information about threats to critical physical and cyber infrastructure. The ST-ISAC is cleared at the Top Secret level. A number of AAR and railroad officials have security clearances, and AAR?s Operations Center is cleared to the Secret level. To ensure the confidentiality and integrity of security-sensitive information, the industry uses encrypted e-mail.
SUMMARY
Since September 11, 2001, the railroad industry has worked diligently, deliberately and painstakingly to ensure that the country?s essential rail services and those people potentially put at risk are reasonably protected against terrorist threats. Freight railroads have in place a four-level alert protocol, built upon a base of more than 50 permanent operational changes implemented in 2001, to respond immediately to credible threats to the transportation network. A 24×7 communications network consisting of the Railway Alert Network and the ST-ISAC provides the North American railroad industry an effective means of sharing and responding to information about threats to both physical and cyber infrastructure.
There are often serious safety issues associated with rerouting hazardous materials. Safety can be compromised as exposure increases. Emergency response capability along alternate routes often lacks expertise in handling the most dangerous commodities. Therefore, any decisions to reroute these products must be based upon sound analysis of the consequences. Such analysis is underway at the federal level with the cooperation of the railroad and chemical manufacturing industries.
The railroad industry is committed to using all of the resources at its disposal and to continuing to work closely with security agencies as well as with local and state authorities to ensure that security and safety are not compromised and that the flow of essential products is not disrupted.
Thank you again for this opportunity to discuss the security actions of the railroad industry.
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[1] A joint effort by the American Public Transportation Association, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Transit Administration is addressing rail passenger issues.