Terrorist threat mitigation strategies for the railways

Abstract

Terrorism is an ever-present threat that is becoming more prevalent in today's society. The railway has always been a favourable target for terrorists due to the high volume of people that utilise it, as well as the vital services it provides to the nation. The railway is expanding and this will likely result in it becoming increasingly vulnerable to attack, unless new mitigation solutions are devised. In this paper risk assessment analyses by a software package conducted on different sections of the railway station provided insight into the present vulnerabilities. Mitigation solutions were devised to abolish these weaknesses in the system, to avoid terrorist exploitation. They were then evaluated to establish a workable solution: a modified version of the Thales Smart Corridor. This workable solution should be implemented across the nation to ensure passenger and rail infrastructure protection.