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Downtown Fort Worth Station to Swarm with Cops in World Cup Terror Drill

See full Hoodline article by Nate Simmons here.

Downtown Fort Worth is about to look like the set of a disaster movie, only this one is strictly rehearsal. On April 15, the city will run a full-scale emergency drill at Fort Worth Central Station, putting local agencies through a simulated improvised-explosive-device scenario ahead of this summer's World Cup matches.

The exercise at Fort Worth Central Station, 1001 Jones St., is expected to bring a noticeable surge of police, fire, and medical crews into the area. Planned evacuations and controlled disruptions to transit and nearby streets will be part of the script, and officials are warning riders and downtown workers not to panic at the sight of all the flashing lights, but to pay attention to official instructions instead.

The operation will involve the City of Fort Worth, Trinity Metro, the Trinity Railway Express, TEXRail, Amtrak and other partners, and will center on a fictional explosive device planted in the transit hub, according to Fort Worth Report. Trinity Metro board member Brad Beason told the agency he expects roughly 20 to 30 emergency vehicles on scene. The goal is to practice how to move large crowds quickly while preserving evidence and treating injured passengers at the same time.

What officials will rehearse
During the drill, planners will be grading agencies on how well they pull off station evacuations, on-site medical triage, preserving a mock crime scene and keeping communication flowing across multiple departments in a mass-casualty transit scenario.

The exercise also plugs into federal preparedness standards. FEMA's exercise doctrine and its National Exercise Program encourage cities and regions to run a series of increasingly complex drills on a roughly two-year cycle to confirm that their plans actually work in the field, according to FEMA.

Transit operations during match days
Behind the scenes, regional transportation planners have already been sketching out how to move tens of thousands of soccer fans to and from match sites without gridlocking North Texas. TRE commuter trains are expected to run more frequently on game days, with service about every 30 minutes between downtown hubs and CentrePort, according to DART. From there, bus bridges and shuttles will handle the final stretch to the stadium in Arlington.

Equipment and staffing
A grant through DART will allow agencies in the region to lease extra gear and bring on additional staff for World Cup service. The plan calls for leasing three locomotives plus extra rail cars to bulk up capacity, as reported by Fort Worth Report. Officials say the added trains will be staged on both sides of the Metroplex, in Dallas and Fort Worth, to speed up turnarounds and let them crank up frequency where the crowds are heaviest.

Why Fort Worth is practicing now
Arlington's AT&T Stadium is set to host nine World Cup matches this summer, making North Texas one of the tournament's busiest hubs and putting extra scrutiny on transit and security plans. On top of local planning efforts, federal officials have carved out about $625 million in a FIFA World Cup grant program to help host cities shoulder security and preparedness costs, according to the program's notice of funding opportunity.

What riders should know
For everyday riders, April 15 is shaping up as a day to double-check your route. Trinity Metro is urging passengers to monitor service alerts and be ready with backup plans. The agency posts schedule changes and advisories on the Trinity Metro newsroom and alerts pages.

The drill is separate from a statewide test of local warning systems scheduled for April 2, which the Texas Division of Emergency Management flagged to counties in advance. Those details have been shared in county notices, including information posted by the Rockwall County Office of Emergency Management.

Officials say running a high-intensity practice now should help them fine-tune crowd control, medical triage and communications before thousands of visitors pour into the region this summer. The city and transit agencies plan to release more specifics on traffic patterns, station access and rider instructions as April 15 gets closer. Residents can sign up for alerts through Trinity Metro and keep an eye on the City of Fort Worth website for updates.

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