Lessons from 9/11: Transit Security, Preparedness, and Partnership

Reflections from Polly Hanson, APTA Senior Director, Security, Risk & Emergency Management and former Chief of Metro Transit Police at WMATA

On Sept. 11, 2001, APTA’s Polly Hanson was deputy chief of the patrol division for the Metro Transit Police Department at the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). As the attacks unfolded in New York and at the Pentagon, WMATA’s immediate priority was to protect customers and employees while keeping the region moving.

“At the end of the day, I would say that it was one of Metro’s finest days,” Hanson said, reflecting on employees who “without regard to themselves or their families, made sure that they did everything they could to help people get home in what was a day like no other.”

At WMATA, that response began in the command center, where the agency’s leadership, operations, police, customer service, engineering, communications, and legal counsel teams gathered to assess fast-changing information, verify intelligence, and make operational decisions. Hanson said the command center model was familiar from weather events, special events, and other emergencies, but the scale and uncertainty of 9/11 tested every part of the agency’s preparation.

The agency did not shut down the system. Instead, Hanson said, WMATA made decisions based on the intelligence available at the time. When there was concern about another aircraft headed toward Washington, trains were held from operating over the Yellow Line bridge from L’Enfant Plaza to Virginia until the threat changed. When reports came in of suspicious packages at Union Station and in a tunnel near Dupont Circle, resources were sent to investigate while service decisions were made according to the specific risk.

“It’s situational,” Hanson said. “You get information, you act on it, you try to find out if it’s true, or you mitigate the risk until you have other information, and then you continue operating.”

For Hanson, the lessons of that day continue to shape public transportation security in three interconnected areas: training and preparation, partnerships and information sharing, and the use of technology.

Training and Preparation

One of the clearest takeaways is the importance of training before a crisis occurs. Public transportation is a unique operating environment, with tunnels, rail yards, platforms, buses, stations, power systems, and crowded public spaces that may be unfamiliar to outside first responders. Transit police and frontline employees need to know what is normal in that environment, what is not, and how to act quickly without unnecessarily alarming the public or disrupting service.

9/11 reinforced the value of training local law enforcement and emergency responders on how to operate safely inside transit systems. WMATA had mutual aid agreements with surrounding jurisdictions, but outside agencies still needed hands-on familiarity with stations, tunnels, and bus operations. After 9/11, and again after later attacks in Madrid and London, that need became even clearer.

Today, tabletop exercises and full-scale drills help agencies test how they would respond to terrorism, severe weather, suspicious packages, special events, and other emergencies. These exercises bring together transit leaders, police, fire, emergency managers, the FBI, and other regional partners to walk through scenarios, identify gaps, and determine who must be notified, what resources are needed, and how decisions will be made.

The Transportation Security Administration’s Intermodal Security Training and Exercise Program (I-STEP) provides exercise, training, and security planning tools for transportation operators, including mass transit and passenger rail, and is designed to strengthen security preparedness, build partnerships, and identify capability gaps.

Training also extends beyond police and emergency managers. Frontline employees now routinely receive security awareness training so they can recognize and report suspicious activity. “Everybody has to get that training,” Hanson said. “Training your employees so that they know what to do, so it’s just second nature, is really important.”

Partnerships and Information Sharing

On 9/11, WMATA’s ability to operate depended not only on its own resources, but also on its relationships with local, regional, and federal partners. The agency had a representative on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and was in close contact with the city’s leadership. Based on the intelligence available at the time, WMATA’s leaders decided they had brought people to work and had a responsibility to help get them home.

That kind of judgment requires agencies to bring experts together: police, operations staff, structural engineers, intelligence officials, communications staff, and local responders. During and after emergencies, regional calls and shared command centers allow agencies to compare conditions, coordinate decisions, and avoid acting in isolation.

Since 9/11, that coordination has become a standard expectation for major events and emergency planning. Hanson pointed to joint patrols, canine deployments, law enforcement support from federal partners, shared camera access, and participation in each other’s command centers as examples of a more integrated regional approach. TSA resources, including air marshals and canine teams, have also supported transit agencies during major events.

Through APTA, Hanson now helps convene security leaders through the Security Affairs Committee and the Security Standards, Policy, and Planning Committee, where public transportation agencies, federal partners, and peer systems develop best practices and exchange lessons on evolving risks, from major sporting events to cybersecurity and drones.

Technology and Public Awareness

Technology has changed dramatically since 2001. Modern camera systems, shared video feeds, encrypted radios, text-a-tip tools, unmanned aerial systems commonly referred to as drones, cyber assessments, and chemical detection programs all help agencies detect, investigate, and respond to threats more effectively.

But technology alone does not prevent incidents. Cameras can help identify what happened and who was involved, but security also depends on trained employees, informed riders, and fast reporting. Public awareness campaigns became a central part of security efforts after 9/11, including “If You See Something, Say Something.”

Hanson said, “Knowing how to contact your local police department or transit agency is important.” She also believes that transit agencies have a responsibility to follow up when riders report concerns. In the early days, reports came by phone; today, customers can text tips and send photos or video. A timely response, even when a suspicious bag turns out to be trash, reinforces that reports are taken seriously and encourages riders to continue participating in system safety.

The Continuing Need for Federal Support

Federal funding remains essential for training, technology, vulnerability assessments, and other security improvements. After 9/11, WMATA received federal funding that supported security enhancements such as bomb-containment trash cans, cameras, and other risk-mitigation efforts. Today, programs such as FEMA’s Transit Security Grant Program provide funding to eligible public transportation systems to both protect critical transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from terrorism and increase resilience.

Hanson said the challenge is that public transportation and passenger rail move more than 25 million people every day but have often received far less security funding and policy attention than aviation.That gap matters as agencies prepare for evolving threats, including cyberattacks, unmanned aerial systems, vehicle ramming incidents, severe weather, and large-scale special events.

“Training, technology, intelligence, and then public awareness campaigns are so important,” Hanson said. Federal resources, including TSA training and exercise support, help agencies build and sustain those capabilities before the next crisis occurs.

For Hanson, 9/11 remains a defining example of public transportation’s role in a national emergency. The lesson was not simply that agencies must guard against threats, but that they must be prepared to keep communities functioning when people need them most. On that day, she said, Metro employees stayed focused on their mission: helping people get home safely.