Post 9-11 has resulted in a public expectation that there will be a planned response to catastrophic events, whether terrorist related or not. Failure to plan for such events erodes public confidence in government and the railroad industry.  The events are certain to happen.  Mitigating them when they occur is critical. A pre-planned response is expected.

Homeland Security has come to mean having a plan that addresses both internal and external threats to effective and safe rail transportation.  It has come to mean plans for guarding against human frailty, intentional vandalism, substandard infrastructure and domestic or foreign terrorism.  Loss of rail transportation capacity has an impact on both economic and employment security in the homeland.

To improve rail security, “map plotting” can pro-actively:
-  Identify critical traffic disruption points
-  Serve as a catalyst for rail/emergency management planning
-  Provide a tool for pre-planned emergency response routes
-  Inventory and document critical rail infrastructure
-   Provide mapping for contract rail operation recovery specialists

Map plotting brings railroads and emergency managers together with a tool to help lay the foundation of a plan.  Planning pro-actively, in a non crisis environment, raises community confidence in both local government and the railroads that serve them.       

When the event happens, the value of planning will be measured in faster mitigation, quicker operational recovery and citizen confidence in knowing there was a well executed plan.