MID-HUDSON – The state’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services today is conducting its “Operation NY S.E.C.U.R.E. (securing the Empire Corridor by Unifying Regional Efforts) rail exercises.
The multi-agency effort on Amtrak’s Empire Line and MTA Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson Line is aimed to promote better cooperation between law enforcement agencies and helps improves the state’s capabilities to respond to actual emergencies on rail lines.
Officers will perform counter terrorism and incident response exercises at passenger train stations and along the right-of-way in Amtrak’s Empire Corridor and on Metro-North’s Hudson Line from Yonkers to Albany.
The coordinated effort involved activities such as heightened platform patrols, increased security presence onboard trains, explosives detection canine sweeps, and counter-surveillance measures.
Operation NY Secure is taking place at train stations in Albany/Rensselaer, Hudson, Rhinecliff, Poughkeepsie, New Hamburg, Beacon, Cold Spring, Croton-Harmon, Tarrytown, and Yonkers.
Participating agencies include the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, State Police, MTA Police, Amtrak Police, City of Poughkeepsie, Beacon and Yonkers Police, Town of Poughkeepsie Police, Village Police in Cold Spring, Croton-on-Hudson and Tarrytown, and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
