Mapping Interdependencies to Secure National Rail Infrastructure

Industry Descriptor: A National Passenger Rail and Critical Transportation Provider

The Challenge

As a national railroad service provider serving more than 20 million passengers annually, this organization operates across a highly distributed and mission-critical network. They required a modernized approach to risk and resilience that could unify disparate continuity structures and operational workflows. Prior to modernizing, the organization struggled with fragmented data across rail assets, facilities, personnel, and dispatching systems, making it difficult to maintain a real-time view of operational readiness during disruptions.

The Solution

The team implemented a multi-phase SmartStart for IRM and Business Continuity Management (BCM) to create a unified resilience engine.

Key project highlights included:

• Operational Deep Mapping: Created Business Impact Analysis (BIA) models spanning corporate and field operations, mapping interdependencies across critical rail infrastructure and operational technology (OT).
• Unified Governance: Integrated emergency response processes and asset dependencies into a single, governed platform.
• Actionable Insights: Translated a complex operational footprint into structured data used daily by continuity managers and executive leadership to drive decision-making.

The Impact

• Real-Time Readiness: Provided an organization-wide view of operational health, supporting rapid response to weather events, IT outages, and infrastructure incidents.
• Critical Backbone: The implementation now serves as the primary system underpinning the organization’s national continuity posture.
• Sustainable Resilience: Successfully moved the organization from reactive firefighting to a proactive, data-driven resilience model.