EDITORIAL: The Ideal Location
By The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
Apr. 16–COLORADO’S TWO U.S. senators, Republican Wayne Allard and Democrat Ken Salazar, are seeking to have the Transportation Technology Center Inc. east of Pueblo included in a national anti-terrorism training consortium.
Last week, the official in charge of subway and transportation safety for the Department of Homeland Security was given a tour of TTCI, and he called the tour and “eye-opening experience.”
Jay Cohen, undersecretary for science and technology in the DHS, toured the world-class rail proving ground with Rep. John Salazar, who also has been working to get the facility included in the consortium. Officials at the center have been trying to create an $18 million subway tunnel simulator, in which emergency workers could train to handle tunnel and subway accidents and terrorist attacks.
The TTCI is a national jewel, known as America’s most comprehensive railroad research and test center. Sens. Allard and Salazar have offered an amendment to a homeland security bill that would include the center in the national anti-terrorism training consortium.
If the amendment is successfully passed into law, it would allow the test center to receive federal grants for training of law enforcement and other agencies in countering terror attacks on railroads. Sen. Salazar recently noted:
“TTCI has the capacity to provide the best training available on rail safety. Given the terrorist attacks on trains in Madrid, we need to include the test center in our homeland security efforts. It is ideally located to provide that training.”
TTCI already provides training on handling hazardous materials accidents for railroads, fire departments and other public safety agencies from across the nation. It has a great track record with this training.
Undersecretary Cohen said during his tour of the center that he likes the idea of having a tunnel simulation. “We have tunnels that are 100 years old,” he said. “I’m looking for ways we can do that experimentation without disrupting the use of those tunnels.”
TTCI is ideally situated to do just that, and it has proven itself as a premier training ground. Congress should act to include it in the anti-terrorism consortium so that important training can get started as soon as possible.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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