From the Editor: Join us in Chicago for Secure Rail 2020

We’re excited about the agenda for our sixth annual Secure Rail Conference, which will be held April 21-22 at the DoubleTree-Magnificent Mile in Chicago. Session highlights include:

• “Emergency Preparedness: Metro’s Road to the Olympics 2028.” Presenter: Aston Greene, deputy chief of system security and law enforcement officer at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro).

• “The Emergence of Cyberterrorism and the Potential Impact to Rail Operations.” Presenter: Alex Borhani, director of information technology security at CSX.

• “Metra’s Emergency Preparedness Program.” Presenter: Michael Hullinger, inspector for the Chicago Metra Police Department.

• “The Belt Railway Co. of Chicago’s Physical Security Best Practices.” Presenter: Gerald Conoboy, director of police and risk management for the Belt Railway.

• “Encryption for Real-time Railway Data Transmission.” Presenter: Emmanuel Waegebaert, product manager for OTN Systems.

• “Progressive Passenger Rail Security Technologies to Help Protect Passengers, Systems and Assets During Mass Gathering Events.” Presenter: Brian Schwab, senior security consultant, security risk management, at Hillard Heintze, a Jensen Hughes Company.

• “Partnering with Local Authorities to Address Rail Security Concerns.” Presenter: John Walsh, assistant vice president of safety and security for Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services Inc.

• “Greatest Cyber Security Threats to the Railroad Industry and How to Prevent Attacks.” Presenter: Paul Veeneman, vice president of operations at MBA Engineering Inc.

• “Rail Security, Operations and Infrastructure Protection.” Presenters: Gary Gordon, visiting professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Tzuyang Yu, associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Secure Rail’s mission is to bridge the gap between the future of rail technology and rail security. For more information on Secure Rail 2020 or to register, visit securerailconference.com.

Introducing the Readers’ Choice Awards Program

We’re trying something new. It’s called Progressive Railroading’s 2020 Readers’ Choice Awards Program.

It’s open to any individual, organization or authorized agent who manufactures, designs, engineers or produces products and technology for the rail industry. Products entered must have been available for industry use by Dec. 31, 2019. There’s also an entry fee to participate.

The program application period runs through March 31.

For more information or to enter, visit: https://www.progressiverailroading.com/awards/entryform.aspx