Secure Rail to debut next month

Progressive Railroading magazine will debut its new Secure Rail conference next month. To be held Feb. 3-4 at the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, Fla., the conference is dedicated to reviewing security issues and discussing how the rail industry is protecting passengers, technologies and assets from man-made and natural threats.

Secure Rail is the first conference to address North American rail security from an organizational perspective, according to Progressive Railroading.

"The recent Sony Pictures hacking, the Charlie Hebdo massacre and even the cyber attack on the U.S. Central Command Twitter account demonstrate that any industry sector is susceptible to having its security compromised, and rail is no exception," says Progressive Railroading Publisher Kirk Bastyr. "As we began planning the conference, it became alarmingly clear that very little information on rail security is readily available and easily accessible. It is in response to this educational gap that Secure Rail was developed."

Secure Rail's nearly 20 session topics run the gamut from "TSA's Vision for Rail Security" to "PTC Cyber Security" to "Tank Car of the Future" to "Using Drones to Beef Up Network Surveillance." A recently added session titled, "Public-Private Partnership for Rail Security" will address the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, which calls for a public-private partnership in critical infrastructure security.

The session will focus on the plan's implementation through joint priorities and coordinated efforts between government and the rail industry, with particular attention paid to preparedness measures and intelligence analysis and security information sharing. The presenters are Association of American Railroads Assistant Vice President-Security Tom Farmer, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Senior Analyst Charles Stanley, and Jason Carnes, from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/TSA Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

Secure Rail also will enable attendees to share personal perspectives, forge relationships and discuss strategy. The conference includes numerous networking opportunities, lunch functions, an opening night reception and a product showcase with leading industry suppliers.

The price to attend Secure Rail is $899. For more information about the conference, log onto the official website at SecureRailConference.com.