The attacks of September 11, 2001, demonstrated the vulnerabilities of the nation's transportation system to the terrorist threat. Terrorist events around the world have also shown that transportation systems are often targets of attack-roughly one-third of terrorist attacks worldwide target transportation systems. While most of the early attention following the September 11 attacks focused on airport security, emphasis on the other modes of transportation has since grown as concerns are voiced about possible vulnerabilities, such as introducing weapons of mass destruction into this country through ports or launching chemical attacks on mass transit systems. The entire transportation industry has remained on a heightened state of alert since the attacks. For example, as of May 2003, the Department of Transportation (DOT) had issued over 15 terrorist threat advisories to different segments of the transportation industry since September 11. This report examines (1) challenges in securing the nation's transportation system; (2) actions transportation operators, as well as state and local governments, have taken since September 11 to enhance security; (3) the federal role in securing the transportation system and actions the federal government has taken to enhance transportation security since September 11; and (4) future actions that are needed to further enhance the security of the nation's transportation system.


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