Middletown Borough Police announced in a press release Friday that they will join more than 270 other law enforcement agencies nationwide Monday in Operation RAILSAFE (Regional Alliance Including Local, State and Federal Efforts).
Operation RAILSAFE is a coordinated deployment of law enforcement officers at passenger rail and transit stations to exercise counterterrorism and incident response capabilities.
Citizens may encounter uniformed officers from the Borough’s police at the AMTRAK station on Mill Street in Middletown. They may also see AMTRAK police in the area, and along the railroad right of way.
Other law enforcement activities in conjunction with Operation RAILSAFE may include heightened station patrols, increased security presence onboard trains, explosives detection canine sweeps, random passenger bag inspections at unannounced locations and counter surveillance.
Developed in partnership by the Amtrak Police Department, New York City Police Department and the Transportation Security Administration, Operation RAILSAFE is designed to coincide with the anniversary of the 2004 terrorist bombings at the train station in Madrid, Spain.
It is important to note that there are no known threats to AMTRAK passenger rail service at this time and service at the Middletown AMTRAK station will not be disrupted by this exercise.
The exercise, which will deploy more than 1,750 law enforcement personnel in 42 states, will be reviewed to identify lessons learned as part of a continuous improvement approach, including evaluation of requirements and tactics for effective response to any future threats or incidents within the railway system.
Middletown Police, along with AMTRAK police, encourage any person who utilizes AMTRAK facilities that “if you see something, say something” at any time. Information can be provided to AMTRAK police at 1-800-331-0008, or in the event of an emergency dial 9-1-1.
