Major incidents such as train accidents, fires, floods, and
terrorist attacks have been an issue for transit agencies and transit
management since the development of modern public transportation. The
earliest examples include the 1862 Fleet River Flood and the 1881
terrorist bombing between Charing Cross and Westminster Station, both on
the London Underground, and the devastating 1918 Malbone Street wreck on
the Brooklyn Rapid Transit (BRT), one of the predecessors to the New
York City subway. More recent examples are Hurricane Andrew (1992), the
World Trade Center bombing (1993), the Northridge Earthquake in southern
California (1994), and the floods in the Midwest (1993-1997.)
Experience with these events, and numerous others, confirms that
responding to critical incidents is one of the most difficult functions
performed in the transit environment. During transit emergencies,
personnel from multiple transit disciplines and outside agencies must come
together to manage the incident, performing such tasks as rescuing or
evacuating passengers, extinguishing fires, controlling crowds, repairing
track and wayside structures, and restoring service. In addition to
responding to emergencies affecting their own system, transit agencies are
also finding that they are instrumental in assisting in larger
emergencies, such as evacuations.
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