TSA partners with Amtrak, Transport Canada for international exercise on cross-border system threats

In a first for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the agency joined an exercise in Canada with Amtrak and Transport Canada last week to address surface and critical infrastructure threats to cross border systems.

They held an exercise scenario developed by TSA’s Surface Operations EXIS program that simulated events on railway security, particularly regarding passenger rail services. In all, nearly 100 participants joined in, ranging from governmental organizations to private sector representatives. The major goal here was to improve relationships, cooperation and information sharing between the United States and Canada.

“Border, transportation, cyber and infrastructure security in the United States depends heavily on the ability to work in sustained cooperation with foreign governments and international partners,” said Gary Renfrow, TSA Assistant Administrator for International Operations. “Working with Transport Canada and the Amtrak Police Department, TSA was able to conduct this groundbreaking international exercise and bring together U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, state and local governments, Amtrak and Canadian companies and representatives to discuss procedures, actions and communications during a serious security incident.”

Passenger rail service connections millions across the two North American countries. Amtrak is the main provider of intercity passenger rail services in the United States, with more than 500 destinations across the country, but also services three routes between the United States and Canadian border.

“Information sharing and communication between federal agencies, private sector partners and other key players is critically important in preventing terrorist attacks,” Assistant Chief of Police James Cook of the Amtrak Police Department said. “With this exercise, we are fostering new relationships and partnerships to protect transportation systems and infrastructure. Additionally, this collaboration will help identify risks and potential solutions for vulnerabilities that affect the two countries.”

EXIS, the tool used here, is an information sharing portal designed to grant users the resources to design, document and evaluate exercises for transportation system owners and operators. Unlike many such tools, it was specifically designed for the transportation industry and can be freely accessed.