September 23, 2016
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The 3Rs of Emergency Planning: Rapid Response and Recovery; NJ TRANSIT Responds to Bombing

As public transit agencies worldwide increasingly focus on issues of safety and security as a top priority, NJ TRANSIT put its plans to the test when a pipe bomb detonated as it was being disarmed by a bomb squad robot near the agency’s Elizabeth station—one of a series of explosions in the New York City metropolitan area during the weekend of Sept. 17-18.

No one was injured in the explosion, which occurred under a rail overpass at the downtown location, according to Mayor Christian Bollwage, who added that the train tracks above were not damaged.

The bombing—one of four—disrupted train service as NJ TRANSIT officials quickly put in place their emergency response and recovery plans—plans that agency leaders have shaped and sharpened since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, with an increasing focus on coordination in the past six years, says New Jersey Transit Police Department Chief ­Christopher Trucillo.

Coordination and Communications
“Over the course of six years, NJ TRANSIT as an entity and all of its business lines and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) have been working together across lines and with partners in the state to coordinate emergency management activities,” Trucillo said, with training as a major component of their efforts.

“We conduct four to six full-scale exercises a year to handle these exact situations. We try to look at how we work together, how we share, and then we critique those exercises to improve and to build relationships. We work together—the police department, fire department, rail and bus operations, public affairs—it’s all in play” during such events.

At the core of the agency’s emergency plans are coordination and communications, externally and internally.
The police department works closely with public affairs to set up direct communications with customers to “keep them apprised at all times in real time using social media,” he said. “We also get the messages out to bus operations so when we have a disruption in rail we can set up bus bridges to make sure customers get where they want to go.”

Communications and outreach were especially critical in the hours after the bombing. NJ TRANSIT Vice President and General Manager of Rail Operations Robert Lavell also noted that training is critical to seamlessly implementing an emergency plan.

“The chief set up training courses for all of us in all business lines. We review scenarios of actual incidents and run through it as if it’s a live incident,” he said, a process that includes assessing a situation’s seriousness and potential impact on customers.

As for communications, Lavell said his department gathers in a situation room at the agency’s Rail Operations Center where they can monitor incidents. “We communicate with rail crews by cell phone so they can make announcements to customers to keep them informed of what’s going on,” he noted.

In addition, he said the agency has the capacity in 429 railcars to distribute text to voice messages to communicate with visually impaired customers, and some of its newer cars are equipped with scrolling signs as another way to contact riders.

Training also plays a role in communications, Lavell said. “We work with the public affairs and police departments to craft messages so we don’t alarm customers,” he said.

“All crews have customer service training so they know what to say and what not to say, and they focus on calm, clear, accurate information without alarming customers,” he said.

Further, he noted that his department also focuses on internal outreach. “We also communicate with trainmen and engineers regarding what the New Jersey Transit Police Department is doing to keep them safe.”

Trucillo reinforced the value of cross-department collaboration. “We’ve evolved to the point where we always do things as a group across all business lines,” Trucillo said. “We don’t operate in solos. When we have an incident, we recognize that we all need to be engaged and involved.” This includes local partners, he added.

“All this coordination came together on the night of the incident.”

Recovery
The agency’s recovery plans actually began minutes after the bomb was discovered at 8:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18.

“A rail operations manager responded to the area and we were getting first-hand information from him and from the New Jersey Transit Police Department. That helped us go into our recovery program quickly,” Lavell said.

“By 10:30, we had a complete shutdown of the Northeast Corridor and North Jersey Coast Line, and 11 or 12 trains were on the railroad. If we didn’t have that [on-the-ground information], we couldn’t have responded as quickly as we did to get all those customers and trains safe,” Lavell added.

Recovery plans are also highly coordinated, Trucillo said, with transit police working closely with first responders and city, state and federal law enforcement.

Everyone involved is primarily focused on safety and security, he said, and in addition, the transit officers are especially mindful to keep transit a top priority—especially in the critical Northeast Corridor.

“The transit police can keep transit on the radar—making sure that service is up and running when it’s safe as quickly as possible so there’s no undue delay,” he added.

The bomb detonated at 12:30 a.m. Monday, but Lavell said their recovery plans enabled them to recover in time for the morning’s rush hour.

“As soon as the area cleared, we went right to our recovery plan for 5 a.m.—figuring out how to move which trains and when—figuring how to bring the system back to normal,” he said.

The agency’s CCTV system allowed rail operators to track activity at stations, showing customers arriving and departing so officials can better judge how crowded stations are.

The agency brought the rail system back on line at 5:30 a.m. and sent that message out to customers, but told them to expect delays. “Within 20 minutes, we could see (on CCTV) the stations start to fill up and trains resumed service with residual delays,” Lavell said.

Staying Alert
Every incident is a learning experience that helps the agency strengthen its emergency preparedness, Trucillo said.

“We always look at events and think ‘what do we need to learn from this event?’,” he added, noting that effective communications continue to play a crucial role in keeping customers and the general public informed—a theme that dates to 9/11—with radio and TV ads and other outreach to reinforce the “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign.

Both Trucillo and Lavell point to ongoing training as critical to staying alert.

“First-line employees all get training on such things as behavior detection and how to spot suspicious activity,” Trucillo said.

Passenger engagement is vital, ­Trucillo said. “We have instituted a text system for passengers when they aren’t comfortable making a phone call, and text messages go directly to the police department,” he said. “We take every one seriously and we investigate every one. Then we respond to the customer who sent it and give them a disposition to let them know how we’ve handled it.”

Lavell noted that the agency maintains a public address system in trains and stations, reminding passengers to stay alert to their surroundings. “It helps heighten awareness,” he said.

And sometimes little things can help a lot. “The chief advised us to increase the maintenance of our trash containers in stations,” Lavell said. “Now we empty them twice a day” as an extra precautionary measure.

As Trucillo said, “As we all know, safety trumps everything.”


Senators Introduce Bill Requiring TSA to Budget for Rail Security

As Passenger Transport was going to press, Sens. John Thune (R-SD), chair of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Bill Nelson (D-FL), ranking member, said they would introduce a bill requiring the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to assess the terrorism risk for every mode of transportation and to better align resources with risk.

The fast action comes as TSA temporarily increased its presence at rail stations in light of the bomb that detonated near a NJ TRANSIT train station, reported here, and after a recent federal report recommending TSA develop a strategy for resource allocation that includes surface transportation.

According to news reports, the legislation would require TSA to establish specific budget requests for separate transportation modes, including surface transportation; to develop goals to measure how effectively those resources are being spent; and to report to Congress on its progress for implementing the new plans.

“I find it troubling that 15 years have passed since the 9/11 attacks and TSA is still struggling to allocate resources to protect travelers, especially in our rail and transit ­systems,” Nelson said after the report was issued.
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