Transit Trends for 2011: Situation Management - Arriving at a Station near You

It's the evening rush hour and a smoke detector has been triggered on a busy rail platform. A security operator receives an on-screen sensor alert on his console. A map pops up displaying the exact location of the alert and the nearby video camera. On-screen instructions tell the operator what to do next. He selects the camera to view live video of the scene and sees a small amount of smoke. Clicking a button on his screen, he immediately notifies transit patrol officers to the situation, via messages sent to their mobile devices. At the same time the security operator calls the fire department, while following additional procedures to ensure the safe evacuation of passengers from the platform. The fire department arrives in speedy fashion to extinguish the fire. Meanwhile, the Operation Control Center (OCC), automatically notified of the incident as well, is already broadcasting the platform change over the public address system. Redirected to the new train platform by OCC, the incoming train driver arrives on schedule and train service continues without disruption.