Rail Transit and the Security Challenge

Passenger railroads and public transit systems have long faced a range of security issues, from ensuring passenger safety to preventing equipment damage and theft. Escalating terrorist attacks over the past decade have only added to this security challenge: From 1998 to 2003, there were 181 terrorist attacks on trains and rail-related targets (such as stations) worldwide, resulting in 431 deaths. But it has taken more recent large-scale attacks, such as on the Moscow and London metro systems and the Madrid regional passenger rail system, which claimed another 288 lives, to raise concerns about rail safety to new levels.