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CSX and DHS Partner to Protect D.C. Corridor

Posted on: Thursday, 6 October 2005, 06:00 CDT

By Anonymous

Could impending legislation to reroute rail-shipped hazmat around major metropolitan areas become obsolete? Perhaps, if the Department of Homeland Security's newest pilot project is deemed a success. DHS has awarded a $9.8 million contract to Duos Technologies, Inc., and Epsilon Systems Solutions, Inc., to design, manufacture, and install more than 300 cameras and sensors along CSX Transportation's 7-1/2 mile D.C. Corridor. The corridor-between Reagan National Airport and Benning Road rail yard-was selected based on the results of vulnerability studies conducted by DHS (led by the Transportation security Administration), the Federal Railroad Administration, Capitol police, and the CSX Public Safety department. The pilot is slated to begin this fall, with work conducted in phases over an 18- month period.

"The technology builds on what we already have in place at some of our most critical assets in Washington, and will allow us to cordon off the right-of-way," says Skip Elliott, assistant vice president-public safety and environment for CSXT. Because the "smart" camera-detector system is event-driven, 24/7 monitoring by security personnel is not required. The system will automatically detect anomalies and simultaneously alert the authorities to respond. It will "look beyond the railroad property," Elliott says, and support D.C.'s overall security efforts.

The pilot was triggered, in part, by the Washington, D.C. City Council's attempt to force CSX to reroute hazmat traffic. Early this year, the Council passed legislation making it illegal to transport hazmat by rail within 2.2 miles of the Capitol. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Washington, D.C. Circuit overturned the law in May. "The rail industry and CSX said at an initial hearing that the notion of rerouting hazmat is a national issue that needs to be looked at by the federal government," maintains Elliott. "The TSA agreed and subsequently announced that it would conduct a number of vulnerability assessments in major metropolitan areas. I can attest that the D.C. assessment was comprehensive and reinforced CSX's own security plan. It took TSA 60 days to conduct. They literally walked every foot of the CSX rail operation in the D.C. area, identifying security assets and likely terrorist targets. As part of a buffer- zone assessment, they looked at where terrorists would likely set up shop if they targeted the railroads, and considered chemical transport risks. Out of all this came mitigation strategies-what steps need to be taken to provide the appropriate level of protection for rail operations in D.C. The new pilot program is one component of that."

Elliott is uncertain that the pilot could preempt rerouting, which also has been proposed in Boston, Cleveland, and Baltimore. "That's a question that has to be answered in the courts," he stresses. "We work closely with federal agencies on a regular basis, and take direction from them. When the courts rule or when the appropriate federal agency comes to a conclusion about rerouting hazmat shipments, we'll abide by that decision."

The pilot, however, may be expanded to other urban areas in the future.

Copyright Simmons-Boardman Publishing Corporation Sep 2005

Source: Railway Age

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