At one time transportation texts were pretty much limited to covering such issues as capability, capacity, access, modal selection, rate structures, and variable- and fixed-cost structures. Transportation security matters, if addressed at all, were relegated to the topic of protecting especially valuable cargoes from potential theft. However, security issues have been present ever since improved transportation began. Whether due to acts of war, criminal activity, or terrorist events, transportation modes have always been convenient targets with economic as well as publicity value. Note, too, that transportation systems are susceptible to natural as well as human-caused threats given the severity of such recent events as the northeast power outage of 2003, Hurricane Katrina's impact on the US Gulf Coast, and the Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami of March 2012.
In recent times the range of possibilities as well as the severity of threats to transportation infrastructure, vehicles, cargoes, and passengers has...
