Allied Telesis National Transportation Security Center

Public surface transportation – passenger trains and train stations, freight trains, buses and bus stations and stops, and highway and railway infrastructure – are targets for terrorists and serious criminals. For many terrorist groups, and for jihadist terrorists in particular, passenger train and bus targets, in particular, have been and remain killing fields. But protecting these targets present challenges. To move large masses of people rapidly, the system must be open, with multiple access points. It is, therefore, different than commercial aviation, which has long been based on queues, and can utilize screening and searching of individual travelers. These are challenges that require that transportation regulators and operators understand the trend of attacks. Which targets are attacked most often, with which weapons, and in which countries? The Mineta Transportation Institute’s Allied Telesis National Transportation Security Center is a key player in helping governmental authorities and private operators answer these questions, identify trends, and work to reduce security risks. 

Research Activities

MTI's experts conduct security and emergency management research and our experts provide Congressional testimony and consult with government officials. In addition, MTI is able to provide specific analyses to individual transportation operators through consulting agreements.

Status Update: National Transportation Security Center Proprietary Database

The Mineta Transportation Institute’s National Transportation Security Center began monitoring terrorist and violent criminal attacks against public surface transportation worldwide in the 1990s. Its proprietary database, which catalogs incidents as far back as January 1970, remains the most comprehensive resource of its kind and contained 8,440 attacks as of the final March 2025 update. 

Throughout this work, the Center has provided timely analysis to help prevent attacks and mitigate their consequences by identifying evolving tactics and vulnerabilities in the United States and abroad. The research team continues this commitment, with the most recent update completed independently by the researchers with support from MTI staff and the Allied Telesis National Transportation Security Center endowment.

Brian Michael Jenkins, Director 

Bruce R. Butterworth, Senior Analyst