When asked about their high-hazard or high-risk areas, most suburban and metropolitan chiefs will talk about high-rises, chemical plants, multifamily housing complexes and airports. Curiously, commuter or intercity passenger rail service usually doesn't make it into the top 10.

While it may come as a surprise to some, passenger rail service in North America is more popular today than it's been in the past 30 years. Amtrak alone serves 44 states with stations in over 500 communities, from major cities to small towns. Their 23,000 route-miles of service go through thousands of other towns that usually don't take much notice of the daily passage of a few trains.

Add to this the number of commuter rail expansions and new projects throughout the country, and it's easy to see how rail transit has once again become a key component of the nation's transportation system and should be on every fire department's radar screen.

Safety begets complacencyPart of the reason for most chiefs' complacency toward passenger rail response is the inherent safety of these systems. Along Amtrak's Northeast corridor, some fire officers who are now contemplating retirement can't remember ever responding to an incident along the railroad.

The federal and industry-wide design standards for equipment have also reduced the number of serious injuries and fatalities in the relatively few incidents that have occurred in the past 20 years. These standards stress the crash-worthiness of vehicles and safe operations.

In contrast, European and Asian policies stress vehicle crash avoidance. While this philosophy also has a fairly safe track record, when an incident does occur, such as the German high-speed wreck in the summer of 1997, injuries and fatalities are far greater than would be found here.

Regardless of the standards and overall safety records of the nation's passenger carriers, Amtrak and many of the commuter railroads have been delivering awareness-level training programs to fire departments along their lines for many years. Lectures, equipment walkthroughs and drills have all played a part in these training efforts.

New regulations passed by the U.S. Department of Transportation now mandate that these carriers, as well as the freight railroads that host some of their operations, must continue conducting and documenting this type of training on a regular basis. These same regulations don't address minimal level, first-responder training requirements for carriers in any other modes of transportation.

Recognizing a need to provide more intensive, hands-on training that focuses on passenger train incident strategies and tactics, the Federal Railroad Administration, through a grant-funded project, asked the Operation Respond Institute to conduct a study of all railroad- and fire service-based programs that focus on passenger train response issues.

Operation Respond, a not-for-profit, public/private partnership between the federal government, the railroad and motor-carrier industries, and the emergency response community, conducted this study in 1997 and found a relative lack of programs in the Northeast and the nation in general.

Existing resources fill new needTo fill this gap, Amtrak and some of the commuter railroads in the Northeast have partnered with Operation Respond to develop regional training centers and programs. Using a combination of existing fire academies, extensive props and a variety of training tools, Operation Respond has begun delivering 24-hour technician-level programs that cover the tactics needed to effectively handle a passenger train emergency.

These courses offer students an opportunity to train around, on and in full-scale passenger train equipment that's incorporated into a very realistic training environment. Over 18 hours of the class are spent in hands-on sessions with the equipment.

According to Lee Williams, general manager of safety for Amtrak's Northeast corridor, "One of the elements of railroading foreign to most firefighters is the overall size and weight of our equipment. This program gives them the opportunity to see firsthand some of the challenges in dealing with this type of equipment."

The program is also designed so responders and railroaders can work and learn side-by-side in realistic settings. Following an introductory lecture where firefighters are briefed on the basic culture and operational characteristics of a railroad, others are brought into the class, including conductors, engineers, car attendants, railroad dispatchers and other personnel. Building a relationship and trust between both sides is as critical to successfully handling an emergency as is knowing where and how to get into a car.

Using scenario-based training sessions, responders and railroaders are trained and tested in a variety of skills. Everything from trespasser or grade-crossing incidents to full-scale mass-casualty incidents is covered in the course.

While the awareness and operational-level training classes provided by the railroads discuss and demonstrate the techniques of removing a window or opening a door, this class provides students the opportunity to do it for themselves, with the added elements of generated smoke, overturned cars and simulated entrapments.

"Telling a responder that a door to a sleeping compartment or lavatory is less than 2 feet wide has a certain level of impact," explains Dan Collins, president of Operation Respond. "Letting them see it firsthand and then deal with it in full ppe during a scenario truly prepares them for working in this environment."

Using case histories and input from response agencies that have dealt with passenger train emergencies, the students are shown the appropriate applications for power tools, hydraulic tools and, most importantly, hand tools.

Realistic scenariosWhile passenger cars are often compared to buses or other vehicles, these courses demonstrate that more similarities exist between rail cars and structures. "Firefighters need to treat railcars like a structural response, using windows and doors instead of attempting to breach walls or cut through the metal skin to gain entry," explains Lou Scida, chief fire marshal for the Long Island Railroad.

The training sessions incorporate all of the response strategies needed to present a realistic scenario, including accountability systems. "If you're sending people into the scene or the equipment itself, you better know who's in there and what they're doing," adds Scida.

The diversity of the students in each class is reflected in the instructors, because conductors, engineers, railroad safety representatives and firefighters deliver each course. The students in the pilot program noted this aspect in their critiques.

"Having an instructor who works on the railroad every day brings great insight to a class like this," explained Larry Jenkins, a captain with the Fairfax County (Va.) Fire & Rescue Department. "The contribution of these instructors truly makes this realistic and practical training."

Regional delivery a factorUnlike railroad-oriented hazmat training and response, which requires specialized equipment like entry suits, monitoring equipment and containment materials, passenger train response requires only some training, standard ppe and tools found on an average engine company.

Recognizing these differences and the much broader potential audience for passenger train response courses, Operation Respond has worked to bring this type of training to the firefighter at the regional level, in cooperation with the Fairfax County, Va., and Mercer County, N.J., fire academies.

"Unfortunately, the days of big training budgets of the 1980s are a thing of the past," says Deputy Chief Ken Jones of the Fairfax County Fire Rescue Academy. "Everyone needs to do more with less and that limits the amount of travel money that we have available."

This sentiment, echoed by career and volunteer chiefs throughout the Northeast, was one of the major factors in regionalizing, not centralizing, the training program. "Our goal is to bring the training to the responders and railroaders," explains Collins. "By selecting these two sites we have not only built partnerships with very well-managed institutions, but we have placed the training at strategic locations within the northeast part of the country."

Developing regional sites such as these requires the cooperation, coordination and generosity of a number of organizations. From the railroad side, Amtrak has taken the lead in developing these centers. Over the past few years, they've donated nine passenger cars, cranes and crews to set up the props, and countless hours in course and material development. New Jersey Transit has also donated cars, track and overhead catenary, as well as provided assistance in setting up the programs.

While these two carriers have provided the lion's share of the materials for this effort, freight carriers Conrail, CSX and Norfolk Southern have also played key roles by providing equipment moves, track, technical advice and direct funding to the development of the training centers.

The Fairfax site now includes four passenger cars, four freight cars, a locomotive, two lengths of track and a grade crossing. One of these cars, a 16-compartment sleeper, is rolled over on its side. The pilot course held at the Fairfax County Fire Academy last summer to fine-tune both the materials and the presentation included scenarios covering both passenger and hazmat response issues.

The equipment and layout of the training props simulate the operations and infrastructure of non-electrified territories, because all of the commuter operations south and west of Washington, D.C., as well as all Amtrak operations in this area and the Southeast, are on heavy freight traffic lines.

The same, only differentThe Mercer County (N.J.) Fire Service Training Academy serves as the main training center for the busiest rail corridor in the country. Each year, over 220 million passengers ride Amtrak's Northeast corridor on everything from local commuter service to high-speed intercity trains.

The right-of-way ranges from two to six tracks wide and is completely covered by overhead catenary, from which most of the trains get their power. Other than some tall equipment that's precluded because of height restrictions, almost every type of passenger and freight locomotive and car operates on the corridor. This includes the new high-speed train sets operating at up to 150mph.

While responding to incidents on a railroad can be challenging enough, the combination of train speeds, frequencies, electrification and proximity to exposures along this corridor presents a unique set of elements unmatched in North America. Responders also often need to deal with bridges, elevated or recessed tracks, tunnels, electrical substations, and other components of this dense metropolitan rail corridor.

The Mercer facility includes many of these characteristics in the training props. Working with railroads and contractors, the academy has developed a site that includes four passenger cars, two electrified commuter cars, overhead catenary, a third rail, two tracks and a bridge.

One of the hazards associated with responding on and along this corridor is the presence of electrification. While basically safe in its normal configuration, downed or broken wires can be fatal if ignored. Similarly, hose streams played on or near these high voltage lines can redefine the term nozzle reaction.

The quiet operation of electrified rail equipment is also unique to this and a few other territories in the country. A firefighter is actually at greater risk responding to an incident along the rails than one on the tracks. Derailments and similar incidents are quickly brought to the attention of railroad dispatchers and other train crews in a number of ways. Fire companies who commit crews and equipment onto the railroad to fight a neighboring brush fire or structure fire, without notifying the railroad, are basically playing in traffic - 125mph traffic.

These operational characteristics, as well as equipment-oriented tactics, are all presented in hands-on sessions at the Mercer County site. "Due to the nature of our operations," explains Williams, "it's difficult to demonstrate a lot of these elements on an active railroad.

"We worked hard to establish this site to provide a safe, controlled training environment for both responders and railroad employees. Bringing these people together outside of an emergency and outside of their normal work place provides a great learning environment," he adds.

In addition to hands-on tactics and procedures, two of the most important topics covered at both training sites are communication and cooperation. "By having responders and railroaders train together, the absolute need for concerted efforts at any level emergency becomes a natural product of the course," says Collins. "Case histories of past incidents have shown that the weakest link in the response and mitigation has been communication."

Other optionsWilliams and his staff at Amtrak are also working with Operation Respond on an unprecedented responder outreach program along the Northeast corridor.

Beginning last November, the two organizations have delivered over 120 sets of the Operation Respond Emergency Information System software to fire dispatch centers along the line.

They've also produced a training video and are now delivering a six-hour operational-level course to every fire and police department serving the corridor. This project is being done in conjunction with the implementation of the new high-speed service and completion of the overhead electrification in New England.

"We are using this opportunity to not only implement world-class passenger rail service in the country, but to deliver a world-class emergency preparedness program that focuses on responder safety and preplanning to every agency along the line," explains Williams.

The Mercer and Fairfax facilities are proof that public/private partnerships work. "Neither we (the county academies) nor Operation Respond could achieve something like this on our own," says John Kubilewicz, director of the Mercer County academy. "But by pooling our assets and resources, we can create world-class training programs and facilities at the local and regional level."

The Long Island (N.Y.) Railroad and the Nassau County (N.Y) Fire Academy have also entered into an agreement similar to the ones described in this article. Although there's no wreck simulation, the railroad has placed commuter cars, track and a third rail at the academy to create a conducive training environment removed from day-to-day railroad operation.

While somewhat separated by geographic and operational differences, these three facilities are actually part of an overall effort by the passenger rail industry to develop and deliver comprehensive training programs to the emergency response community. The key to the success of all of these programs is working together to develop centers and courses that complement, not compete with, each other.

For more information on any of these programs, contact the Operation Respond Institute Training Division, P.O. Box 845, Woodbridge, N.J. 07095; 732-326-0320, e-mail: .