• Freight train derails near Chicago

    Seventeen cars are derailed near a suburb west of Chicago; two of the cars contained molten sulfur, and authorities treat the accident as hazmat event

  • TSA has processed more than 1 million commercial HAZMAT applications

    Since the HAZMAT driver’s license screening process was launched nearly four years ago, TSA has completed a review of 1,015,660 applications and approved more than 1 million

  • New guide for truck cargo security

    Some 80 percent of all communities in the United States rely solely on trucks for the products and goods they receive, including food, books, clothing, electronics, automobiles, and medical supplies; making sure these trucks and their cargo are safe is thus an essential part of securing the home front

  • Push for nation-wide car tracking system in U.S.

    Two companies quietly shopping new motorist tracking options to prospective state and local government clients; goal is to create a nation-wide car tracking system in the United States by using existing and newly installed red light cameras and speed cameras

  • DHS: Progress and priorities, I

    Since its creation more than five years ago, DHS has made significant progress — uneven progress — in protecting the United States from dangerous people and goods, protecting the U.S. critical infrastructure, strengthen emergency response, and unifying department operations

  • Bay Area's FasTrak road tolls easy to hack

    Toll transponders can be cloned, allowing fraudsters to travel for free while others unwittingly foot the bill; more seriously, criminals could use the FasTrak system to create false alibis by overwriting one’s own ID onto another driver’s device before committing a crime

  • European rail freight transport to double by 2030

    The use of European rail for freight transport will double by 2030; use of intermodal traffic to grow much more; increased continental trade and congested roads drive freight to rail

  • Amtrak purchased additional Sabre 4000 from Smiths Detection

    Rail operator buys additional hand-held IMS detection devices better to detect and identify explosives, narcotics, chemical warfare agents, and toxic industrial chemicals on trains and in stations

  • Judge imposes gag order on Boston subway hackers

    Three MIT students hacked smartcards used by the Boston subway system; they were planning to make a presentation about the hacking at this weekend Defcon event in Las Vegas — but a U.S. district judge imposed a gag rule on them

  • Greyhound slaying sparks debate over Canadian bus security

    Drivers’ union calls for metal detectors, but bus company says this is impractical as the vast majority of passengers are more likely to board buses at gas stations, convenience stores, and other roadside stops than central terminals

  • Two million hydrogen vehicles on roads by 2020

    A transition to hydrogen vehicles could greatly reduce U.S. oil dependence and carbon dioxide emissions, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council, but making hydrogen vehicles competitive in the automotive market will not be easy

  • The crisis of U.S. infrastructure, II

    The U.S. infrastructure is elaborate — 4 million miles of roads, 600,000 bridges, 26,000 miles of commercially navigable waterways, 11,000 miles of transit lines, 500 train stations, 300 ports, 19,000 airports, 55,000 community drinking water systems, and 30,000 wastewater plants; maintaining this infrastructure costs money

  • Rising sea level threatens U.K. coastal rail lines

    Andrew McNaughton, Network Rail’s chief engineer: “The effects of climate change, and in particular sea level rise, are likely to increase the severity of the wave, tidal and wind effects on coastal defenses”

  • China introduces new subway security measures

    As of yesterday, Beijing subway passengers face checks by scanners, police, dogs, and 3,000 specially trained security guards under a security clamp

  • Airless tires may be a lifesaver in military combat

    A Wisconsin company and Badgers researchers develop an airless tire that can withstand extreme punishment, even those meted out in military combat zones