Overview
Terrorist attacks and the impact of blast, fire and the dispersion of toxic agents in passenger stations/terminals on passengers, staff and infrastructure.
The aim of the SECURESTATION project is to improve passenger station and terminal resilience to terrorist attacks and safety incidents through technologies and methodologies enabling design to reduce the impact of blast, fire and the dispersion of toxic agents on passengers, staff and infrastructure.
SECURESTATION will consider threats from terrorist attacks and safety incidents caused by blast, fire and accidental or deliberate particle dispersion. The project objectives are:
- To increase resilience of passenger stations and terminals through structural design, interior design, and building services design, realising everyday benefits while designing for security;
- To ensure cost-effectiveness of countermeasures through application of risk analysis methodologies to prioritise actions taken in design and operation of passenger stations and terminals;
- To deliver a Constructive Design Handbook addressing new build and retro-fit cases to serve as a powerful decision support tool for owners and operators to increase station security and safety from terrorist bomb blast, CBRN attacks involving particle dispersion, and fire events;
- To create harmonisation and the standardisation of risk assessment methodologies, technologies and design solutions thereby supporting wide application by the numerous EC public transport organisations and associated key stakeholders.
Therefore, the main focus of the SECURESTATION project will be to produce the necessary tools to build safer and more secure infrastructure whilst providing maximum operating resilience. The project covers the development of Risk Assessment Methodology(including simulation results), specifically focusing on passenger stations/terminals (a scenario specific methodology) and the development of a Constructive Design Handbook. These two main outputs will be accompanied by dissemination activity at a transport security conference, and through an extensive End User Group.
Funding
Results
Towards safer and more secure European transport
Efforts have been made to improve resilience to terrorist attacks and safety incidents in passenger stations and terminals via technologies that assess risks.
Public transport, especially mass passenger transport, faces a range of security threats in Europe. This includes the threat of international terrorism, which has historically targeted public transport systems, both worldwide and in EU Member States.
To make these spaces less vulnerable, the http://www.securestation.eu/ (SECURESTATION) (Passenger station and terminal design for safety, security and resilience to terrorist attack) project aimed at advancing the tools necessary for building safer and more secure infrastructure. Developments in this focus area will also thus provide maximum operating resilience.
Project members achieved all set objectives and submitted all corresponding deliverables relevant to the first reporting period. These included the outlining of design strategies, the identification of user requirements and an analysis of existing risk assessment (RA) methodologies.
Progress was made in organising a workshop with end users, and a dissemination and exploitation strategy was established. The SECURESTATION http://www.securestation.eu/ (website) was used to communicate project activities.
Researchers developed a numerical model for the main critical scenarios identified in earlier project actions. In addition, a methodology was developed for evaluating system vulnerability and equipment availability following a terroristic attack at a station building.
SECURESTATION gathered and analysed information regarding current fire protection systems and the geometrical aspects of different European stations. The purpose of this exercise was to arrive at a common general model for determining a station or terminal's geometry, while making it as adaptable as possible for use in any station in Europe.
With a view to maximising the impact of project results, a foundation was established for assessing the impact of results obtained and recommendations made during the project's lifetime. Data were gathered from prior European projects and studied to analyse the acceptability of security measures on the part of operators and passengers.
The project's two main outputs were the development of an RA methodology (focused specifically on passenger stations/terminals) and a Constructive Design Handbook.
Overall, the project has contributed to safer public transport and the enhanced security and functioning of important infrastructure.